


Different

by techno_jesus



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Ultimateverse), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-03-27 12:47:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19013203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/techno_jesus/pseuds/techno_jesus
Summary: Peter Parker wakes up in the Stark Tower even though he no longer interns for Tony. Feeling confused by the situation, he turns to Ned, hoping to get advice from his best friend. Peter, knowing something is wrong and is feeling out of place, is convinced to talk to Tony and eventually meets Miles, who is more experienced in this 'wrongness' than any of them.Miles struggles to communicate with Tony which slows their progress of getting home. How will Peter handle it?+++In other words, I needed a place where young Peter meets with Miles :')





	1. Where am I?

Peter's head is resting on his chair, mouth slightly opened. The table in front of him is messy, covered in blueprints, sketches and chemical formulas. Almost every paper has some sort of notes scribbled on it, whether it would be follow up ideas or angry disappointment. 

 

He's currently in the Stark Tower for his internship, in one of the labs, left behind by the scientists. The holographic projection lit up in front of him shows a side project he's been working on. 

 

Peter's arm twitches lightly and he shifts a little bit, clearly dreaming. A hand lands on his shoulder, shaking him lightly. 

 

“Hey, kid. Wake up.” A familiar voice says. Peter can't fully understand it from his sleep and murmurs something in response. “Wake up, kid, you need to go home. It's school night and you're only human.” 

 

Peter breathes in deeply, his body waking up. He opens his eyes and blinks a couple of times, focusing his gaze. His eyes meet with Tony's, who still has a hand on his shoulder. Peter moves away from it lightly and finds the clock on his monitor with his eyes. 

 

_10:40pm_

 

_Fuck._

 

He stands up quickly, sending the chair rolling across the room. He quickly throws the most recent pile of papers into his backpack and turns off the computer, ignoring the dots of color in his vision from standing up too fast. 

 

“Hey, kid, slow down. Slow down, no need to move at the speed of light. I spoke with your aunt, she knows you're okay. Happy’s gonna take you home, okay?” Tony says, standing up from the chair he pulled up for himself. 

 

“I'm so sorry, Mr. Stark, it won't happen again, I… I really shouldn't have fallen asleep.” Peter says quickly. Words falling out of him before be can register he's rambling. 

 

“Don't worry about it. It really is okay. Just try to get some sleep once you get home, okay? I don't want you to die because you're an intern here.”

 

“Yeah, I will. Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

 

“Happy’s waiting for ya downstairs. Don't keep him waiting.” Tony says, a small smile playing on his lips. 

 

Peter mutters another quick apology alongside with a thank you and disappears from the room. As soon as the door close behind him he stops cold in his tracks. His brain finally caught up to him and he just now realised what felt wrong this whole time. He doesn't intern for Tony anymore. He's one of the Avengers… He blinked a couple of times in confusion and starts searching his pockets, looking for his phone. No luck. He drops his backpack on the floor and starts going through it quickly. 

 

He throws the papers he just stuffed inside on the ground. They are quickly followed by school books and his pencil case. His hands land on his suit and even though it's not what he's looking for he still breathes out in relief, just realising he was holding in his breath. 

 

Even if he can't find his phone in his bag he at least has Karen to help him out. He grips the fabric tightly for comfort, wanting to put it on but knowing he can't. He slowly let's go of the fabric and continues in his search, less hectic this time. 

 

He finds it in a pocket with his water bottle and powers it up after he finds out it has turned off. 

 

While his phone is loading, he quickly stuffs his things back into his bag and picks it up. 

 

His phone dings, signifying it has turned on and he enters his password as he's walking towards the elevator.

 

_14 unread messages_

 

Peter taps the notification, his messaging app opens.

 

_Ned: 8 unread messages_

_May: 6 unread messages_

 

Peter taps on his chat with his aunt, knowing she'll need an answer first, despite Tony telling him she knows he's okay. 

 

He looks up from his phone to push a button on the elevator for the door to open. 

 

“Ground floor, please.” He says, looking back down on the chat. The door close with a ding and the elevator starts moving downward. 

 

 

_Today:_

_May: When are you coming home?_

_7:40pm_

_May: Peter? Are you okay? You should've been home by now._

_8:10pm_

_May: Why aren't you picking up? Did something happen?_

_8:30pm_

_May: I'm calling Stark, if something happened to you in his building you're never going back!_

_9:00pm_

_May: I'm worried, Peter…_

_9:01pm_

_May: Stark said, he'll go check on you, you better be okay!_

_9:10pm_

_Yeah, im fine. Fell asleep in the lab :/_

_10:45pm_

_Omw home at the moment. Mr. Stark said happy will take me home_

_10:46pm_

_Sorry, i scared you_

_10:46pm_

 

Peter taps the back button and then on his chat with Ned. 

 

 

_Today:_

_Ned: are you still at the tower?_

_7:10pm_

_Ned: ready to do some spider-work!_

_7:11pm_

_Ned: i figured out a way how to tap into the police's radio btw_

_7:11pm_

_Ned: hit me up when you're free and we can set it up_

_7:12pm_

_Ned: i first want to try it on a computer, so we don't destroy your phone_

_7:15pm_

_Ned: hope it doesn't blow :’)_

_7:16pm_

_Ned: you okay?_

_8:20pm_

_Ned: hellooooo?_

_9:00pm_

_Fell asleep in the lab lol_

_10:47pm_

_I dont think i can go on patrol this late_

_10:47pm_

_Plus happys taking me home :/_

_10:47pm_

 

The door dings and open, showing the ground floor. Peter walks out of the elevator and through the security check, swiping his card. He heads through the front door when he notices Happy standing outside of the car, waiting impatiently. 

 

He quickly walks to the car, waving a hello. Happy rolls his eyes and gets into the car, starting the engine. Peter jumps into the back seat and reaches for the seat belt. 

 

“Why is it always you that I have to drive home?” Happy asks as the car starts moving. 

 

“Sorry,” Peter says, with an awkward smile which goes unnoticed by the driver “had a lot of exhausting work and fell asleep in the lab.” 

 

Happy doesn't say anything, his eyes fixed on the road. He probably didn't want an answer. 

 

The rest of the drive was spent in silence. Peter didn't know if only he felt like it was awkward or if the feeling was mutual. Yet he didn't want to break the silence, the driver looking exhausted and annoyed with having to drive him. 

 

When Happy pulled up at Peter's apartment Peter quickly grabbed his bag, made sure Happy knew he was grateful for the ride and quickly got out of the car. As soon as he closed the door, the car drove off. Peter watched it for a couple seconds before turning to his apartment building and heading for the front door. As he unlocked the main entrance, he quickly glanced at his phone. 

 

_11:15pm_

_2 unread messages_

 

Pushing the door open he taps on the messages, eyes not leaving the screen. He doesn't usually take the elevator but he really doesn't feel like going up the stairs. He presses a button and waits for the elevator to arrive as he opens a message from May. 

 

 

 _Today_ :

_May: Don't scare me like that!!_

_10:50pm_

 

The elevator ding, so he steps inside as he opens a message from Ned. 

 

_Today:_

_Ned: :(_

_11:00pm_

_Sorry, maybe tomorrow_

_11:16pm_

 

Peter quickly locks his phone as he exists the elevator. He enters the appartement and sees that the lights are still on in the living room. May's waiting for him. Peter quietly closes the door behind him and takes off his shoes. He heads for the living room, expecting to get a lecture. 

 

He can see May lying on the couch, the TV playing a movie which she's no longer watching. Peter notices her calm and deep breathing, indicating she's asleep. He takes a blanket from the other end of the couch and covers her carefully. He then reaches for the remote and turns off the TV, the room falling into darkness. 

 

Leaving May behind, Peter heads to his room, dropping his bag on his chair as he collapses on the bed. His mind beginning to generate questions. 

 

Mr. Stark acted as if he didn't know that I'm Spider-man. Ned knows though. But Ned found out long after Mr. Stark. This doesn't make sense. Mr. Stark should know I spend a lot of time at the tower and I tend to go home pretty late some days. 

 

Peter rolled onto his side, frowning, his mind racing. 

 

I'll talk about it with Ned tomorrow. He decides in the end, quickly changes into his pj's and goes to brush his teeth. After that he crashes back onto his bed falling asleep in minutes. 


	2. What's happening?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Ned

Peter wakes up to his alarm going off. He reaches over and searches for the phone with his hand. _Where the hell did I throw it._

 

Unable to find it, he shoots a web in the direction it's coming from, hoping it will silence its screaming. Judging by the fact that the alarm is still going off, only muffled, tells him he has missed. Peter groans in response and pushes himself up, seeing the phone on his table. The bottom part is glued to the table, covering the speaker. Peter considers shooting another web and just going back to bed but that way he definitely wouldn't get the phone of the table for about two hours.

 

In the end he walks over, turns off the alarm and pulls the phone from the sticky web.

 

 _Ew_.

 

He tries to clean it off but no matter how hard he tries it remains a little sticky. Peter sighs and rubs his eyes, throwing the phone on his bed. He'll deal with it later.

 

When he opens the door from his room he immediately knows that May has already left, her absence leaving a strange hole behind. He heads for the kitchen, hoping to scavenge some food before school starts.

 

As he enters the kitchen he is met with a pleasant surprise. There's a pb&j sandwich and a glass of juice on the table alongside with a note. He walks over to it and sits down, biting into the sandwich.

 

_Had to leave early for work. Sorry for the poor breakfast, I was in a rush. I'll probably come home late so don't wait for me._

_Love you_

_-M_

 

Peter frowns as he reads the note. _I hope everything's okay._

 

He quickly finishes the sandwich and chugs down the juice. As he's finishing the glass he glances over at the clock.

 

_7:15am_

 

Just enough time to get ready and be on time in school. Peter then heads to the bathroom, taking a quick shower and brushing his teeth before he gets dressed for the day. He quickly packs his bag and heads out.

 

+++

 

“Pst.”

 

“Hm ?” Peter doesn't need to turn to know who it is. Ned sat down next to him just as class was starting, trying to get his attention. Ned knew he could be really quiet, barely audible, knowing that Peter will hear him regardless.

 

“What happened yesterday?”

 

“I told you, I fell asleep.” Peter, on the other hand, had to speak in a tone which could be heard by normal humans. He glanced at the teacher. Hadn't noticed. 

 

“You never fall asleep while working… _Especially_ not when you're in the Tower.”

 

Peter could feel Ned’s gaze on him. Even though he really wanted to look over and reassure him with a smile, he didn't. He just remained silent, his eyes now focused on the board.

 

“Peter!” Ned nudged him, whispering his name with urgency. 

 

“We'll talk later, okay? Wait for me after school.” He didn't hear a response from his friend but knew he understood.

 

Rest of the day was awfully slow.

 

+++

 

Peter was nearing the alley where he usually changes into his suit, knowing Ned’s already waiting for him. He's hoping he bought something to eat because he's currently starving.

 

As he anticipated, Ned is sitting on the ground, his back resting against one of the walls and he's going through something on his phone. Peter then notices a sandwich in his other hand.

 

“Hey, Ned.”

 

“Pete,” Ned looks up “hi.” He moves over and gestures to his friend to sit next to him. “So, what's up.”

 

“Kind of multiple things… Before I begin though. Got one for me as well?" He gestured to the sandwich.

 

"Yeah." Ned replied quickly and shuffled through his bag, taking out a sandwich wrapped in paper. "Here ya go." He said, handing it to him.

 

Peter took it with a smile, unwrapping it and taking a bite before he began talking. "You know I was at the tower yesterday…And, well, Mr. Stark came to wake me up and he literally called me human. It was as if he didn't know I'm Spider-man!"

He glanced at Ned who gave him a confused look. "He literally made my suit!" He said, throwing up his hands in the air before taking another bite. He settled down a little, Ned still watching him silently. "I don't even know why I was at the Tower. I no longer intern for him and yet, he called me his intern.” Peter looks up, his gaze meeting Ned’s. The sandwich in Ned’s hand is on the verge of falling, his mouth wide opened.

 

“What..?” Peter asks.

 

“You have a suit from Tony Stark and you never told me?!” He whispers angrily, trying to keep his voice down.

 

Peter frowns and blinks in confusion. “You saw me in the suit. In my room. A couple of months ago.”

 

“Yeah, in your hoodie and weird-ass goggles…”

 

“Hey! I made that!" To which Ned only rolled his eyes." Plus I haven't touched that thing in like a year." To that Ned raised an eyebrow, confused.

 

"Ned, what are you doing, if you're trying to pull a joke on me with Mr. Stark, it really isn't funny.” Ned just stared at him in silence. “Give me a second, I'll go change and we'll figure it out. There must be a recording or something.”

 

Peter quickly goes to change behind a dumpster, while Ned’s keeping watch. He compresses the suit onto him and walks from behind the dumpster, his clothes in his hands.

 

“That's so fucking cool…. Are you from a different universe? That'd be so cool.”

 

Peter throws his stuff into his bag and powers on the suit, sitting down next to Ned again.

 

_That's not actually that far fetched._

 

“Good afternoon, Peter.”

 

“Hey, Karen, I have a quick question.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Who are you speaking to?”

 

“My AI.”

 

“Cool…” Ned nods, excited.

 

“Give me status info.”

 

“We are on Earth… But not our Earth. This Earth doesn't know you as an Avenger. You still work on your own, with the exception of Ned, who talks you through technical things as you're on the go. Your aunt also doesn't know your identity. You haven't fought the Vulture plus you still intern for Mr. Stark.”

 

“Huh… How did we get here..?”

 

“I'm not sure. I have no trace of any dimensional travel as far as I know.”

 

“Can you show me the last thing you recorded before I powered you up?”

 

“Sure thing. Pulling up video from yesterday evening.”

 

A video shows up in front of him. It's Monday, Peter's in his room, he has the mask on and he's talking to Karen, both of them working on his suit. Suddenly they are disturbed by this purple-blue portal which shows up on his ceiling. It looks as if it was boiling, bubbles consuming the ceiling, colors changing as it expands. It starts pulling everything into itself, including Peter, as if it had a gravity center of its own. He tries to hold onto the wall but the force is too strong. He manages to snatch the suit and his backpack before he's sucked in. With that the video turns into static and closes.

 

“So ?” Ned asks.

 

Peter transfers the video onto his hand, allowing Ned to see it as well. He presses the play button and glances at his best friend as he gets sucked into the vortex.

 

“That is so weird… you're saying you don't remember this?”

 

“I remember it vaguely. What I don't remember is how I got into the Stark Tower. I don't intern for Mr. Stark anymore.”

 

“Anymore? Did something happen?”

 

Peter laughs awkwardly, knowing his best friend will freak out. “I kinda became an Avenger.”

 

Ned takes a second to process what Peter just said only to start freaking out as predicted. 

 

“This is the best thing that has ever happened to me. We have to tell someone!" His voice excited as he begins to shake Peter by his shoulders." I mean, dimensional travel? You're an Avenger?!” He pauses. "Am I dreaming?"

 

“Yeah, no. We're not telling anyone. At least not yet. I have to figure out how to get home and how to get this Peter back-” Peter gets cut off by a sharp pain exploding through his whole body. Sharp, scolding knives stab him all across his body, his vision getting cloudy. Peter inhales sharply, such a basic action suddenly feeling impossible.

 

“Peter? Peter?! Are you okay?”

 

When he finally comes back to himself, he finds Ned with a panicked expression, not knowing what to do.

 

“What the hell was that?!”

 

“I don't think my atoms are too jazzed about being in the wrong dimension.” He says after a moment, breathing heavily. 

 

“We have to go to Mr. Stark. I don't know who else could help you in this situation.”

 

“No, no, I'm fine. This universe's Mr. Stark doesn't know my identity and I don't think I should be the one to reveal it.”

 

“Peter, let me help you. Plus if anyone has the right to reveal your identity, it's you.”

 

Peter sighs, knowing there was no reason to argue and nods slightly, remains of the glitch still roaming through his body.

 

“Can you stand?” Ned asks as he gets up and offers a hand to Peter.

 

“Yeah.” Peter accepts Ned’s offer and is pulled up to his feet. Ned bends down and picks up their bags, handing Peter his.

 

“Let's go.”


	3. Mr. Stark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stark Tower visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise chapters are getting longer :')

They're standing in front of the Stark Tower, Peter's stomach sinking to his feet. He scans the tower, reconsidering what he's doing as the building towers above them. However, before he can start doubting himself too much he forces himself to step forward, sending his stomach lower. _Maybe this isn't a good idea._ He thinks as he turns to Ned. 

 

“Should I really be going in as Spider-man?”

 

“I mean, Stark deserves to know who you are if he's gonna help you.” Ned says as he follows Peter to where he's standing. He stops beside him for a moment before grabbing his arm and starting to drag him lightly towards the tower. 

 

Peter lets himself be pulled, knowing he wouldn't bring himself to step inside otherwise. 

 

As they enter, a guy behind the reception table raises his head and frowns in confusion. 

 

“Can I help you?”

 

“Yeah, we're looking for Tony Stark.” Ned tries to sound as casual as he can but Peter can hear his heartbeat picking up pace with anxiety. 

 

“Sorry, but Mr. Stark doesn't accept visitors.”

 

“It's an emergency.”

 

As Ned says that the burning pain Peter felt before returns. His legs give out and he stumbles to the ground. This time it's shorter. The pain stops for a moment before returning. He tries to scream but finds out he can't. When the pain finally stops, he's on all fours on the ground, panting and covered in sweat. 

 

The receptionist now looks panicked. He quickly checks something before saying: “he should be in his lab.”

 

Ned says something but Peter doesn't recognise the words. After a moment he can feel Ned place a hand on his arm, wanting pull him up. He manages to pull him to his feet and throws Peter's arm around his shoulders. “Come on, we're almost there.” He mumbles.

 

They stumble towards the elevator, its door immediately opening. Peter, no longer filled with that much pain, takes his arm from Ned’s shoulders. “Thanks.” He smiles at Ned, not realising the other guy can't see the expression. “FRIDAY, take us to Mr. Stark’s lab, please.” 

 

The lift rushes upwards, taking them to the designated level. The door open, revealing the entrance to Tony's lab. Peter and Ned walk out, Peter attempts to enter his code but after it flashes red he realises it most likely was stupid to even try. Yet, the door pop open, letting them through. 

 

“FRIDAY, who the hell are you letting in when I'm working.” Tony walks in from a different room, cup of coffee in hand. He stops dead in his tracks after noticing Peter and Ned. “FRIDAY?”

 

“Yes, boss.”

 

“Since when do we accepts clowns?”

 

Peter takes a step back, beginning to panic. He can't do this. He can't do this to this world's Peter. 

 

“Karen, what's the nearest exit point.” Peter whispers. 

 

“Pulling up a map of the floor.”

 

“Hey! No running away. Who the fuck let you kids in.”

 

“The receptionist, sir.” FRIDAY answered. 

 

“Oh, I'm gonna fire his ass. Get lost.” He waves his hand, as if shooing away a fly and turns to put down his coffee mug on a table. 

 

“Please, sir, we need your help. My friend here, he… he's from a different universe and if he stays here for too long he may die.”

 

Tony turns back, interest sparkling in his eyes. “And how do I know you aren't making that up.”

 

Peter now has the map in front of him, nearest exit point highlighted. He's just about to flee, as he decides to make the first step, he's struck with the pain again. This time a very quick one. Lasting barely a second. Peter stumbles, trying to regain balance. 

 

Ned catches him, allowing Peter to use him as support. “Please, sir, we don't know who else to turn to.”

 

“Have him sit down.” Tony gestures to his chair and pulls up a new one for himself. 

 

Ned gives him a look in which he's asking if he's okay to walk on his own. Peter nods lightly and walks towards the chair, legs feeling heavy. He tries to sit down as casually as possible, not collapsing onto it. 

 

“So,” Tony turns to Peter “different universe, huh…“ He says, scanning him with his eyes. 

 

“Yeah.” Peter says shyly, putting on a different voice. 

 

“How'd you get here?”

 

“That's the funny thing… I don't really know. I got sucked into some kind of portal and woke up here.”

 

Tony turns his head to Ned, taking a sip of his coffee before he speaks. “And you, how do you know him. Also, what the fuck are you wearing.” He turns back to Pete. 

 

“He's an Avenger!” Ned says, proud of his friend. 

 

“An Avenger you say… And that suit? That looks pretty advanced. You built that?”

 

“No… Actually… You gave it to me.”

 

“Peter, would you like me to close the map or is the escape still a viable option?”

 

“Yeah, close it. I don't think I should go.”

 

“Understood.”

 

“Go where?” Tony shoots him a glance. “And who are you talking to?”

 

“Karen, my AI. You installed her in my suit, like you have FRIDAY.”

 

“Huh...have her connect to the main screen, I wanna see if she recorded anything.”

 

Peter didn't want to mention the fact that Karen actually records everything, baby protocol and all, so he just rolled closer to the monitor and connected her. 

 

“So… Karen...” Tony says. 

 

“Yes, sir?”

 

“Were you able to record anything before our friend over here,” gestures to Peter “got transported here?”

 

“Of course, sir. I record everything.”

 

“Huh.”

 

"The baby monitor protocol, sir. Would you like me to run the basics of it?”

 

“No need.” Peter says, seeing the way Ned is trying to suppress his laughter. “Just show the recording you showed me.”

 

The video pops up, showing Tony what Peter and Ned saw earlier. Tony looks fascinated by it, never seeing anything like that, it naturally has caught the genius’ attention. 

 

“You still haven't told me your name, you know.” Tony says. 

 

“Yeah…” Peter hesitates for a second, then pulls off his mask. 

 

“You know, we know each other, kid. I recognised your voice as soon as you spoke, so the costume really wasn't necessary.” Tony says with a small smile, catching Peter's eyes. 

 

“Yeah…Anyway do you have any idea how to get me home?”

 

“We first have to find out what brought you here.”

 

And so, the speculating began. They went over a lot but figured out nothing. In the end Peter got a worried call from May, asking where the hell he was. When Peter glanced at the clock and saw it was past 11pm he was pretty surprised. 

 

“Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I totally lost track of time! I'm gonna leave immediately, I'll text you when I'll know how long it will take me…..Yeah…. Yeah….. Love you too.”

 

Peter gives both Ned and Tony an apologetic smile as he hangs up. He gestures to the door and runs out as Tony gives him a nod of understandment. 

 


	4. The other guy

Peter's standing on top of a building, feeling the confusion this world is giving him. He feels like he knows this place but at the same time he feels like he never saw it. He looks around, the billboards gradually changing ads as time passes on. The city looks just like his own but at the same time it's so drastically different. 

 

He looks around, scanning the area for anything to do. The calmness of Queens rendering him useless here as well. He crouches down and asks Karen to help him. 

 

“There's a mention of a back-up request ten blocks away from here. There's not much information besides that they have someone, potentially dangerous, in a costume cornered.”

 

“Pull up the directions.” He says as he jumps from the building, head down, going into a free fall to pick up speed. He then shoots a web, skillfully bringing himself into a flip and continues swinging. 

 

After a while Peter lands on the side of a building, just close enough to see what's happening. 

 

There's two police officers pointing their guns at, presumably, a guy in a black suit. It has a red spider sprayed on the front and back of it and the fingertips of both his hands and feet are red as well. He's also wearing green shorts over the suit alongside with red sneakers. 

 

“Is there any mention of this guy? Anywhere?” Peter asks, leaning closer. 

 

“No, not on the internet at least. He might be from a different dimension, like you.” Karen suggests. 

 

“May be.”

 

He then jumps down and swings towards the scene, landing couple of feet behind the policemen. “Is there any problem, officers?” He speaks. Both of them flinch, spinning around and pointing their guns at him. “Take off your mask and put your hands in the air.” One of them demands. 

 

Peter raises his hands ever so slightly, pointing his finger tips away from himself, trying to prove he's no harm. He then shifts his gaze from the officers to the guy behind them. He's guessing, and hoping, that he has the same powers as him, therefore will be able to hear him. 

 

“Go,” he whispers, his voice too low for a normal human to hear if they're further than a feet away. “I'll handle this.” 

 

“You sure?” He hears, hesitation in the guy's voice. 

 

Peter feels weight fall from his shoulders. 

 

 _He can hear me._ “Yeah, swing up and meet me at the roof of the Stark Tower.” 

 

Before he really finishes one of the officers turns back to the other guy. “You too! Hands in the air, mask off!”

 

Peter shoots a web at that officer, distracting the other from his new spider friend, enough for him to escape. Peter doesn't pay more attention to the guy, having to get away as well. 

 

“Sorry ‘bout that!” He shouts over his shoulder as he launches himself into air. 

 

+++

 

Peter lands on the side of the Stark Tower, not really being high enough to land on the roof. He climbs to the top and as he pulls himself onto the roof he can see the other guy there. He's sitting on a ventilation shaft, watching Peter, mask still on. 

 

“Hey,” he says “you got any idea why they were pointing their guns at us?”

 

“No, not really.” Peter says. “I haven't been here long but from what I know, Spider-Man isn't exactly famous around here.”

 

“Huh.” The guy says, not really as puzzled as Peter expected him to be. 

 

Peter walks forward, stretching out his hand. “I'm Peter, by the way.”

 

“Miles.” The guy says, taking his hand. “So… How'd ya get here?”

 

“Through this weird-ass portal. It was this colorful bubbly thing,” he pauses for a second “I don't really know how to describe it.”

 

“Yeah, no worries. I know exactly what you're talking about.”

 

“What about you?” Peter asks. “How'd you get here?”

 

Miles chuckles a little. “It's a long story.”

 

That left Peter with more questions but he let the subject go, respecting Miles’ decision. “We should go see Mr. Stark. He's helping me figure out how to get me home. Maybe he can help you out too.” Peter suggests. 

 

“Yeah, that'd be nice. Thanks.”

 

+++

 

Peter enters his password into Tony's lab, which was given to him by this Tony, therefore actually allowing him in. 

 

“Mr. Stark?” He calls out. He didn't think of asking FRIDAY if Tony was actually here. _Stupid._

 

“Yeah?” Tony calls back, voice muffled by a wall. Moments later he appears in the lab, walking out of his bathroom. 

 

Peter turns to Miles, neither of them having their masks on anymore. He can see anxiety on him. Anxiety he's trying to hide. “I found someone who also needs your help.” He says. He tries to catch Miles’ gaze but when he doesn't succeed he whispers lightly. “It's okay, you can trust him. I know him well.”

 

Miles looks at him, his eyes scanning Peter’s face, before he nods. “Hi.” He greets Tony, their eyes locking for a moment. 

 

“How many of you are there?” Tony asks, frowning in confusion. 

 

“Too many.” Miles laughs nervously. 

 

Tony gestures for them to come closer. “I'm guessing you know something about all of this fiasco.” Tony says, gesturing at them, as he sits down. 

 

“Had some experience.” Miles says, pulling up a chair. 

 

“Care to enlighten us?” Tony asks, face neutral but Peter notices the smile in his eyes. 

 

And so he does. Miles explains his experience with the Kingpin and his collider. How he met the other Spider-people and how he suspects this might be related to that. He mentions how they had to break into the Alchemax and steal Dr. Octavius’ computer in order to recreate something called a goober, whatever that was. 

 

“And where was the collider?” Pete asks, sitting on a chair he pulled up. 

 

“Under Fisk’s tower. But it's possible to get there from this one subway station.”

 

“So I guess we go there and examine it?” Peter asks. “See if it's there and if it really is the thing we're dealing with.”

 

“Yeah, I like that.” Miles says. 

 

“I can't let you kids just go get yourself killed.” Tony says, reminding the other two of his presence. “I'm going, you two will enter only after I confirm it's safe.”

 

“I can take care of myself.” Miles says. “Plus I'm the only one who actually fought Kingpin.”

 

“You _fought_ him?!” Peter asks. “That's super cool!”

 

“Look, kid,” Tony starts “I believe you that you can take care of yourself but I really can't allow either of you to get hurt.”

 

Miles sighs, nodding, accepting what Tony said even though Peter suspects he's most likely going to disobey him. 

 

Peter was just about to say that they should move when the pain returned. As he fell, glitching through the chair, he noticed that Miles screamed. Or maybe he just imagined it. Maybe it was his own voice. 

 

He hit the floor, his lungs empty, desperately trying to get oxygen. His body cramped as he tried to take a breath, the attempt unsuccessful. 

 

And then the pain stopped. Leaving a faint trace behind. He notices Tony crouching above him. "You okay?" He asks, voice weak. 

 

Peter nods, "As I wanted to say,” Peter speaks through heavy breaths. “We should get moving.” 

 

He lifts his head, meeting Tony's eyes which are fixed on him, panicked.

 

“Yeah, put your masks on, we're going immediately.”

 

Tony helped Peter to his feet and then reached to help Miles up. “You all right?” Peter could hear Tony ask. Miles only nodded in agreement as he pulled his mask on. 

 

“FRIDAY, get me a suit, will you?”

 

“Right on it, boss. It will be there shortly.” She responds, all three hearing the suit flying towards them. It throws Tony around a bit as he suits up. 

 

Peter got a window opened in the meantime, he and Miles sitting on it, watching Tony. “Try not to attract too much attention.” Miles says with an obvious smile even though Peter couldn't see it. Then he jumps from the window, shortly followed by Peter. As they're falling to the ground they can hear the Iron Man's blasters roar and soon see Tony above them. 

 

Peter shoots a web, stopping his free fall and heads the direction that Miles went in. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think of Miles? If there's any mistakes or something doesn't make sense, feel free to let me know!


	5. Aaron?

They are getting very close to the collider, Peter guesses by how Miles is beginning to seem more and more nervous. 

 

“We're very close.” He says in the end. ”I don't think nothing major has happened yet as there is no visible damage here.” He continues, looking around. 

 

“You kids stay behind.” Tony says, taking the lead. “I mean it.”

 

“I still think we should tag along.” Miles says. “If there's danger you  _ will not _ be able to handle it.”

 

Tony turns, eyes locking with Miles’. “I will call Peter after I enter, informing him if it's okay for you two to follow. Only then,” he pauses, landing his finger on Miles' chest, “shall you enter. Understood?"

 

Miles scuffs, sitting down against a wall in protest. “This is stupid.” He mumbles. 

 

“Well, that's just the reality of life.” Tony says, beginning to get pissed off. He then turns and leaves the kids behind, following the corridor. 

 

Peter sits down next to Miles, neither of them breaking the silence as they listen to the Iron Man's footsteps slowly fading away. 

 

In the end, Miles is the first to break the silence. “I really don't like that he went in alone.” He pauses, thinking. “If… if the collider is there and… and if anyone's there and they notice him and we're not there to help-” He stops, clearly remembering something. 

 

“You okay?”

 

“Yeah,” he nods sadly, “yeah, I'm okay.”

 

And so they wait, Miles fidgeting nervously, looking after Tony, awaiting his return. 

 

Peter, on the other hand, is excited, the waiting beginning to feel endless. There's not much to do in Queens and Manhattan so a change of pace is really nice. And then, his waiting is finally brought to an end, an icon popping up in his vision. 

 

_ Incoming call: _

_   Mr. Stark _

 

“Answer call.” Peter says, standing up. 

 

“Hey kid,” Tony says, “the collider is here, just as Miles thought. From what I can see, there's no one here at the moment.” Peter gestures at Miles to get up and they go after Tony. “The collider itself is a wreck at the moment, it seems as if it exploded.”

 

“Weird.” Peter says “We're on our way, we can examine it together.”

 

“Great. End call.”

 

The icon of Tony's name and picture closes, replaced by one which says:

 

_ Call ended.  _

 

They jog towards Tony when they spot him, looking around in awe. 

 

“So it is Kingpin.” Miles says quietly. “I'll go check if there's anyone by the control panel.” He says, loud enough for Tony to hear him. 

 

Before either Peter or Tony can really react he launches himself towards the control center. Peter watches him as he jumps through the wreckage of the collider and swings, landing below the box which is sticking out of the wall. And then… he disappears. Just out of the blue. He's gone. 

 

_ What the fuck.  _

 

“Mr. Stark?”

 

“Yeah?” Tony responds, looking at Peter. 

 

“Did you see that?”

 

“See what?” He traces his glance, looking at the box. “Where'd the kid go?”

 

“He just…vanished.”

 

“Like vanished vanished? No portal? Nothing?”

 

“No-”

 

“FRIDAY, get me a closer look.” He pauses, scanning the area. “There's nothing there. No heat trace, nothing.”

 

Then he suddenly appears. It looks like he jumped away from the box but they can only see his free fall. He shoots a web and swings on top of the collider, landing harshly. He scrambles to his feet and looks around, examining something. 

 

"Miles?" Peter calls, not really rising his voice in case anyone's here with them.

 

"I don't like this. It seems as if it was abandoned after it exploded." He trails off into thought, talking more to himself than Peter. "That means that Kingpin might have gotten what he wanted or-" he pauses, thinking, "or someone stopped him." He looks down at Peter. "But you're not twenty-six yet. You're still a kid. So who stopped him?" 

 

Peter can feel Miles' eyes piercing through him, looking deep into his soul. He shifts his weight from one leg to another, uncomfortable by the strength of his gaze. 

 

Miles then jumps down, bringing himself in between Tony and Peter. 

 

"What year is it?" He asks, the question sounding rather like a demand. Tony stiffens, preparing to protect his kid if necessary. 

 

"Um, 2019."

 

Miles seems to stiffen a bit, confused by Peter's answer. He looks around frantically and backs away from both Peter and Tony, crouching a bit. Just as Peter wanted to ask what he's doing he feels it too. The hairs on his arm stand up, a feeling of arriving danger consuming his mind. 

 

"Mr. Stark?" Peter says, having Tony look at him, "Something's coming." 

 

And then he spots it. A purple blur running towards them, skilfully gliding in between the scraps. It actually seems like he's flying more than he's actually running. Peter gets ready, preparing for impact, when Miles suddenly runs towards the blur. 

 

In few short moments they meet, colliding and crashing on the ground. There seems to be a ball of electricity exploding, sending the purple man away. Miles stands up, electricity shooting from his body, forming some sort of an electric shield.

 

"Aaron?" He asks. 

 

The other guy doesn't respond, only prepares to attack again. He runs towards Miles, Miles having little to no time to react but still somehow avoids the collision in the end. His shield of electricity falls and doesn't reappear. 

 

"Look, Aaron. If it really is you, I refuse to fight you."

 

Peter begins to feel like he needs to intervene but doesn't seem to find an opening to do so. Tony even puts a hand on his chest, stopping him from going. 

 

"It seems personal." He whispers. "We'll intervene only if it's necessary."

 

Peter nods and brings his gaze back at the fighting. 

 

Miles shoots a web, catching one of the guy's hand and closes it up. He looks down at it, irritated, and tears the web down with his other hand. He looks back up at Miles who's now sticking from a part of the collider. They are very close to each other, maybe a bit too close for Peter's liking. 

 

"The name's Prowler." He growls, his voice modified by some device. And then launches himself at Miles. He grabs the kid by his neck, tearing him away from the collider with extreme force and throwing him on the ground. He collides with the ground hard, breaking the pavement below him as if it was sand. As soon as this happens he disappears. 

 

"That's enough!" Tony yells, blaster ready. "Hands in the air or I swear to god I will blast you to ashes."

 

Peter looks around, searching for Miles but with no luck.

 

Then he feels his spider sense nudge at him, alerting him to Miles who appeared behind them. He tries to stand on his own but at the same time he collapses onto Peter. 

 

Peter catches him, bringing Miles' arms around his neck as he holds him up. 

 

"You okay?" He asks, lifting him up higher, the kid falling from his arms. 

 

"Yeah, just-" Miles whispers, "hurts."

 

"Mr. Stark?" 

 

Tony doesn't turn but Peter guesses he's listening to him now. 

 

"We gotta go. He probably has a concussion-" He's cut of as the Prowler launches himself onto Tony, taking him by surprise. 

 

"MR. STARK!" Peter yells, worried for his mentor. He looks down at Miles. He has now given up on trying to stand on his own and is putting all of his weight on Peter. Peter looks back up at Mr. Stark, puzzled whether to leave the kid and go help his mentor. 

 

Then he hears a blaster go off, noticing the Prowler only barely escaped its power. He falls to the floor and is now pinned down by Mr. Stark. 

 

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't blast your head off." He growls between his teeth. 

 

Miles shuffles in Peter's arms, extending one hand towards the Prowler. "No-" He whispers. 

 

"Mr. Stark!" Peter calls, "Don't kill him!" 

 

Tony doesn't react though, only repeats his question, this time louder. 

 

"Mr. Stark!" Peter calls again, louder. 

 

_ Maybe he can't hear me.  _

 

"ANSWER ME!" Tony yells, the blaster beginning to heat up. 

 

"TONY!" Peter screams. That seemed to pull him out of his trans, surprising him enough for the Prowler to kick him away and disappear into the darkness where he came from. 

 

"You alright, Mr. Stark?" Peter asks, voice quieter. 

 

"Yeah-" his breath shaky, "I'm okay, kid." He looks up and sees Peter with Miles in his arms. 

 

"We gotta go." Peter says, urging his mentor into action. 

 

Tony only nods absentmindedly. 

 

+++

 

Peter's sitting by a hospital bed, reading a book on which he can barely focus. The steady beeping of the monitors mixed with fear for Miles is driving him nuts. He occasionally checks his phone anxiously, even though he isn't expecting a call. 

 

_ It's been one day. He still hasn't woken up.  _

 

His phone dings, making Peter jump a little. 

 

_ 1 unread message _

 

He taps it and it shows Ned's text. 

  
  


_ Today _

_ Ned: has he woken up yet?  _

_  6:15pm _

_ No :/ _

_ 6:15pm _

_ Ned: wbu?  _

_  6:15pm _

_ What about me? _

_ 6:15pm _

_ Ned: how are you handling this _

_  6:15pm _

_ I mean… We were attacked by god knows whom, miles seems to know the dude yet he tried to kill him _

_ 6:16pm _

_ Oh and mr. stark almost killed the guy _

_ 6:16pm _

_ Prowler or whatever his name was _

_ 6:16pm _

_ Ned: never heard of him  _ 🤔

_  6:16pm _

_ Ned: maybe the dimensional shit?  _

_  6:16pm _

_? _

_ 6:17pm _

_ Ned: you know, maybe he somehow also got here and doesn't know miles because he's not in his universe  _

_  6:17pm _

_ Ned: idk, just guessing _

_  6:17pm _

_ Ill ask him when he wakes up _

_ 6:17pm _

_ Ned:  _ 👌

_  6:17pm _

 

Peter puts down his phone on the table besides him and leans into his hands. Letting out a tired sigh he rubs his eyes, trying to bring some energy to himself. 

 

He can sense the door opening and he looks up, finding a nurse in the doorway. He quickly checks the monitors, writes something down and then looks at Peter. 

 

"You should go get something to eat. He probably won't wake up for a couple more hours anyway."

 

Peter nods and pushes himself from the chair, knowing the nurse is right. He grabs his phone and shoves it into his pocket, stealing one last glance at Miles before he leaves the room with the nurse. 

 

"There's a vending machine by the reception," he says, "cafeteria's on the end of the wing but I don't think they're open at this hour." He glances at the clock. 

 

"Thanks." Peter gives the nurse a smile before walking off towards the reception. 

 

He spots three machines there. One's for drinks and other two are filled with snacks. Peter throws some change into the first machine and chooses an espresso. While that's getting ready he punches in the number for a snickers bar in the machine next to it and shoves the bar into his pocket. 

 

The first machine dings and he takes out his drink, the heat of the coffee burning into his fingers. He turns around to walk back into Miles' room, giving a small smile to the receptionist. She smiles back at him, appreciating the gesture. 

 

He enters the room carefully and walks over to his chair, putting down his coffee besides him. He opens the bar and bites into it, realising just how hungry he is. 

 

He rests his head against the chair, closing his eyes. 

 

_ Just for a moment.  _

 

He thinks as he falls into deep sleep, the coffee now forgotten. 


	6. Back at the Tower

Peter grunts, waking up. His neck and back hurt like hell from the odd position he slept in. He yawns and rubs his eyes, getting the last remains of sleep from his eyes. 

 

He shifts into a more comfortable position and only then notices his phone going off. He finds it with his eyes and catches it moments before it vibrates itself off the table. 

 

_11:05 pm_

_Incoming call:_

_May_

 

He takes a slow breath and answers the phone, knowing she's worried sick. 

 

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" She screams and Peter has to pull the phone away from his ear. 

 

"In the hospital." 

 

She takes a shaky breath. "Why are you there this late? Are you okay? Is the boy okay?" 

 

"Yeah, May, I'm okay. Just fell asleep, it's been a long day." He pauses and looks at Miles, finding that the boy is awake and looking at him with curious eyes. "I- I should go." Pete continues. 

 

"What? Nu-uh, you go home and nowhere else, you understand me?" 

 

"I'll sleep over at Stark's place. I'll call Happy to come pick me up."

 

"That wasn't an option-" 

 

"Please, May." He pleads. 

 

Peter can hear her sigh. "Fine. You let me know when you get there."

 

"I will. Love you."

 

"Love you too." She says and hangs up. Peter puts down his phone, his eyes not leaving Miles'. 

 

"How're you feelin'?" He asks. 

 

"Pretty okay," he admits, looking down at his hands, "should be all healed up by now."

 

"I'm glad." Peter says, feeling a little awkward. 

 

Silence falls between them and after a while Miles looks back up at Peter. "Didn't you wanna call someone?" 

 

"Yeah- yeah." Peter stutters, picking up his phone again. He finds Happy’s number and dials it. It rings for a good minute before he picks up. 

 

"What." He says, voice annoyed at the late call. 

 

"Hey, sorry to bother you but could you come pick us up?" 

 

" _Us_?" 

 

"Yeah, Miles and me, the other spider guy."

 

"The _who_ and _what_?" 

 

"I- you know, from the other dimension?" 

 

Peter can hear him mumble something to himself about this world being fucking crazy. "Where are you?" 

 

"The hospital."

 

"I'll be there in ten minutes." He says and hangs up. 

 

Peter shoves his phone back into his pocket and gets up, throwing Miles his backpack. Miles gives him a confused look as he catches it with ease. 

 

"Your suit's inside." He explains. When Miles doesn't say anything he continues. "Nobody will say anything about who you are. We barely told them anything."

 

Miles looks at him with slight distrust appearing on his face. "What were we supposed to do? Let you die?" 

 

Miles only rolls his eyes.

 

"Climb out the window, I'll go check you out."

 

"Who's coming to pick us up?" 

 

"Mr. Stark's driver."

 

Miles only nods and then waits for Peter to leave so he can change from his hospital gown. 

 

Peter's not really sure how he's gonna do this. He never had to sign anyone out of a hospital. Not even himself. His only option seems trying to wing it. He reaches the reception and leans against the counter. 

 

"Hey." He says with a smile, greeting the young woman behind the counter. He tries to remain calm, not wanting to alert her. 

 

"Yes?" She asks. 

 

"I would like to check out Miles Morales."

 

She raises an eyebrow, confused. 

 

"Yeah, we're moving him into the Stark Tower. He's a friend of mine and he's better now and- yeah." He says, anxiety picking up as he looks down at his hands. _I definitely didn't need to mention the Tower._

 

She looks at him for another second before typing something into her computer. "There is no one under the name Miles Morales in the database." She speaks. 

 

"Uh….huh. Nevermind then," he smiles, "thank you anyway!" He says and jogs out, leaving the confused woman behind. He stops outside, scanning the area for Miles. He finds him sitting on the wall of the hospital, watching him exit. He jumps down, remaining in the shadows. 

 

Peter turns as he hears a car approaching. Seeing that it's Happy he gestures for Miles to follow as he jogs towards the car. 

 

They both jump in and Happy scans Miles with his eyes. "I won't even ask." He says as he turns forward and starts driving. 

 

They rode in silence. Peter occasionally glances over at Miles, anxious about asking the question Ned suggested. 

 

Miles notices him glancing over and looks at him, the giant eyes of his mask looking at him. 

 

"Yeah?" He asks. 

 

"The- the Prowler." Peter says quietly. "Who is he to you?" 

 

Sadness seemed to linger between them, Miles now looking down at his feet. 

 

"My dad's brother," he takes a breath before continuing, "my- my uncle. He was murdered by Kingpin when he refused to kill me."

 

"I'm sorry." Peter says, not knowing what else to say. 

 

They fell into an awkward silence which wasn't broken for the rest of the drive. 

 

+++

 

Happy pulls up to the Tower, stopping in front of the front door. 

 

"Thanks, Happy. Sorry for calling you so late." Peter says as he gets out. 

 

"It's okay." He sighs. 

 

"Good night." Peter says as he closes the door, looking up to Miles who's standing on the other side of the car. 

 

"Night." He hears from the car before it drives off. 

 

"C'mon," Peter says, "let's get inside."

 

The automatic glass door are locked at this time of the day so Peter fishes out his card and swipes it through the reader on one side of the door. 

 

They pop open, letting them in. They walk over to elevator and wait for it to arrive. When it does, they step inside, greeted by FRIDAY. 

 

"Good evening."

 

"Good evening, the penthouse, please."

 

The lift starts moving upward, the silence between the two teens starting to become too awkward for Peter. 

 

"We won't let your uncle die." Peter says. 

 

Miles' head springs up, looking at him. "You can't prevent that." 

 

"But I can try." He tries to give a weak smile. 

 

Miles looks like he wants to say something but then door ding and open, letting them into the huge great room. Peter heads down the hall, towards the bedrooms, Miles following loosely behind him. 

 

"The other guest bedroom." Peter says, pointing to the door on the right, opposite of his own. 

 

"Thank you." Miles says, handing Peter his empty backpack before he disappears inside. 

 

"FRIDAY?" Peter speaks as he enters his own room. 

 

"Yes, Peter?" 

 

"Are Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts home?" 

 

"Yes, they are sleeping in their bedroom. They haven't been alerted of your arrival. Would you like me to inform them?" 

 

"No, no. Just… let Mr. Stark know once he wakes up."

 

"Of course."

 

Peter sends May a quick text, letting her know they're safe before he heads for his bathroom, eager to take a shower. He strips quickly, his clothes falling on the ground, before popping inside and turning on the water, ready to feel clean. The hot water begins to hit his body, the heat comforting his uneasy mind.

 

But that comfort doesn't last long, nothing ever really does. His mind is consumed by the agony of the glitch again. His knees give out and he falls to the floor, the fall seeming impossibly long. Yet it wasn't long enough for him to catch himself. 

 

He hits his head on the side of the shower before he reaches the floor. The hot water keeps on falling, unaffected by what just happened. There's something warm trickling down his forehead now as well. And once the pain stops he doesn't hold back the tears anymore. 

 

They fall freely, taking a physical form of his fears. The fear of the unknown, of dying, of never getting home. Never seeing his May. 

 

_Oh god, May._  

 

His mind wants to drift off but the cold floor is keeping him conscious against his will. 

 

He rubs his eyes, shivering from the cold radiating from the tiles. He gets up, washes his face from the blood before he stops the water. The bruise has managed to heal in the meantime, no more blood coming out. 

 

The room falls back into painful silence. He climbs out of the shower, grabbing a towel and drying himself. He quickly brushes his teeth and wraps the towel around his waist, heading out of the bathroom. He heads for his closet and sees that there aren't any clothes there. 

 

_I should've gone home._

 

He thinks sadly. He grabs the shirt he had to school along with the used underwear and pulls it on, returning the towel to the bathroom. 

 

After that he goes to lay down, burrowing himself into his covers. 

 

"Goodnight." He says to which FRIDAY turns off the lights in his room and wishes him goodnight as well. Peter grips the covers tightly, bringing them up to his chin. 

 

He closes his eyes, his eyelids becoming too heavy to keep open and he falls into dreamless sleep. 

 

+++

 

Peter awakens with the rising morning sun. He opens his eyes and slowly pushes himself into a sitting position. His room is different from how he remembers it, the walls being pretty much bare. 

 

_The way it was before I decorated it._

 

He feels the sadness try to gnaw at him again but he ignores it, focusing on the quiet voices he can hear with his enhanced hearing. 

 

"Would you like something to drink?" Pepper asks, her voice kind. 

 

"Coffee, thanks." Miles responds. 

 

He looks around for his jeans and finds them on the floor, just where he left them. He pushes himself out of bed, grabs them and pulls them on. 

 

He lingers before the door for a moment but then pulls them open, exiting his room. He heads down the hall towards the kitchen, ready for breakfast himself. He's mid hallway when he hears Miles speak again. 

 

"Can't sleep?" Miles asks. Peter isn't exactly sure if it's meant for him or Pepper so he remains silent. He spots them in the open kitchen on his right side, Miles sitting behind the kitchen table, stirring his coffee. Pepper's behind the breakfast bar, typing something into her tablet. There's two large and expensive looking sofas on the left with a huge plasma tv in front of them. 

 

Miles raises his head and looks at Peter, expecting an answer. 

 

"Just woke up." He replies quickly. Miles nods in acknowledgement and looks back down at his coffee, stirring it a bit more before taking a long sip. 

 

"Thank you, Ms. Potts, the coffee's lovely." Miles says, looking up at her for a change.

 

"Glad you like it." She smiles at him. Her eyes travel to Peter as she speaks again. "There's some scrambled eggs left in the pan, if you're interested." She gestures towards them. 

 

Peter nods and heads for the pan, scraping the rest of the eggs onto a plate, a portion big enough for two. 

 

He then opens the fridge and looks for any trace of a drink. He finds a bottle of orange juice buried behind the rest of the food and wiggles it out. He pours himself a glass and returns the bottle to its place. 

 

Grabbing the plate and the glass he sits down behind the table, opposite of Miles, and begins to eat. Miles looks at the size of his portion but doesn't comment on it, just takes another long sip of his coffee. 

 

"What about you?" Peter finally asks, the question bothering his mind. "Why up so early?" 

 

"Couldn't sleep," Miles says, "barely shut an eye."

 

"Is it about what happened?"

 

"I guess," he pauses, "just wondering why uncle Aaron didn't respond to his name. He wasn't affected by me knowing his name in any way. I wonder if- if someone else is the Prowler in this universe."

 

"We'll figure it out." Peter says, stuffing more food into his mouth. 

 

Miles looks over at Pepper and lowers his voice so she can't hear them. "We need to get into Alchemax. Without Mr. Stark this time."

 

"Why?" Peter asks, lowering his voice as well, stealing a glance at Pepper too. 

 

"Their security is extremely tight. When I went there we went through the vents and I don't think the Iron Man is a particularly stealthy suit." He responds, taking another sip. "If this universe's Dr. Octavius is anything like I know her, we'll need to sneak out the whole computer, downloading files won't get us nowhere."

 

Peter raises an eyebrow as he finishes his meal. 

 

"She's…messy. I couldn't make anything out of her desktop."

 

Peter nods. "When?" 

 

"The sooner, the better."

 

"We should at least let someone know. Ms. Potts maybe?"

 

"Will she tell Stark? You know he won't let us go on our own." Miles says, eyes looking deep into Peter's, sending chills down his spine. 

 

"I'll- I'll let my friend know, Ned, I don't think you know him."

 

"Ms. Potts?" Miles calls at her. 

 

She raises her head from her work, meeting Miles' eyes.

 

"We'll head out for patrol, okay?" 

 

She frowns for a moment, thinking. "Okay, I'll let Tony know when he wakes up."

 

"Thanks!" He says and quickly finishes the rest of his coffee. He then stands up and places the mug into the dishwasher. "Meet in ten?" He turns to Peter. 

 

Peter nods and takes his dishes into the dishwasher as well. He slowly heads for his room, not wanting Pepper to think anything of such early patrol. When he enters he quickly changes and sends a text to Ned, explaining where they're going. 

 

Peter stretches a little bit, his muscles still asleep since he pretty much just woke up. He opens his door and heads for the lift. He's soon joined by Miles who jogs up to him, fully dressed as well. 

 

"We're heading out!" He calls and waves at Pepper. She waves back and watches them enter the lift before returning to work. 

 

They ask FRIDAY to take them to the roof of the building. After a moment, the door open and they are met with a windy morning. The wind howls against the lift, wanting to take it with it. Miles steps out and breaks into a sprint, jumping of the roof, not waiting for Peter. It sends Peter into a small shock but he recovers quickly and he jumps down himself, following after Miles. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts or observations :)


	7. Alchemax

They're sitting in a bus, heading for Alchemax. It's rather quiet, the inconsistent purr of the engine being the only thing filling the air. Miles is looking out of the window, his head resting on it, watching the passing scenery. Peter looks around, the bus is pretty much empty. The passengers that are on board occasionally give them a weird glance but other than that they go unnoticed. 

 

"We're here." Miles says, lifting his head. 

 

"Why did we actually take the bus?" 

 

Miles just shrugs, "It's too far away to swing there."

 

Peter doesn't comment as the bus slowly comes to a stop. The door pop open, letting the passengers out. They both exit the bus and Peter looks around, taking in the surroundings. There's a large cubical building with Alchemax written on it. Besides that there's nothing too special about it. Just plain white walls with large windows. 

 

Miles heads towards the side of the building, Peter following two or three steps behind. They're hoping to get to a place where they won't be as easily spotted. Somewhere they can enter the building without being caught immediately. 

 

"See that vent entrance right there?" Miles asks, pointing towards it. Peter catches up as he lets his eyes wander, searching for the mentioned spot. It's almost at the top of the building, large enough for a grown man to comfortably crawl through. 

 

"Yeah. How are we both gonna get up there without attracting more attention?" He asks as he looks around, noticing one guard that's watching them, looking like he's considering calling it in. 

 

"Got it covered." Miles chuckles. Moments after he said that loud music starts playing from around the place they got off the bus. 

 

Miles jumps on the wall, ignoring the music, and starts climbing upwards. Peter watches in shock, taken aback by the loud music.

 

"Karen, can you tune it down please?" 

 

"On it."

 

Moments later the music becomes quieter, no longer making his head explode. 

 

"Come on!" He can hear Miles call after him, pulling Peter out of his state of shock. He sticks to the wall himself and follows Miles into the shaft. 

 

Inside it is just as spacey as it looks from the outside. He looks around, having an uncomfortable view. 

 

"Where now?" Peter asks. 

 

"We gotta find Olivia's lab," he said, crawling forward, "I have a vague memory of where it is so it shouldn't be a problem."

 

And just as he predicted, it really wasn't. They soon found themselves above mentioned lab, the doctor behind her computer, typing away. Miles seemed to look around and then moved forward, finding an entry point which allowed them to see what the doctor was typing, even though it was in a reflection of the glass behind her. Miles then sat down, hunched over, watching the doctor. 

 

"How good is your memory?" He whispered. 

 

"Uh… It's fine. Why?" 

 

"We'll need the password."

 

"Oh! My AI records everything I see, it shouldn't be a problem."

 

Miles just looked at him, taken aback. "Okay then."

 

After a moment they could see her insert pictures of the damaged collider into the document she has been working on and then putting the computer to sleep. She got up from her exercise ball and left the lab.

 

Miles sighed. "Now only if we knew the password, we could actually be done already." He spits, annoyed about having to spend more time in the shaft. 

 

"We should be able to break in without the password, no?" 

 

Miles looks at him. "I can't hack that well."

 

"I have a friend that can." Peter pauses, a plan forming. "We most definitely can ask him for help."

 

Miles seemed to smile, relieved. "Okay, you stay here." 

 

He then slowly opened the shaft, careful about not making too much noise, and pulled the cover up besides him. He then carefully sticked to the first row of circular lights surrounding the entrance, making his way to the second row. With the built up momentum he dropped onto the ball bouncing it towards the computer.

 

_Cool._

 

Peter thought to himself. He watched Miles bend over and carefully unplug the computer when an icon popped up in his vision. 

 

_Incoming call:_

_Mr. Stark_

 

_Shit._

 

"Uh, push it to voicemail." Peter whispered. Miles raises his head from below the table, confused. "Not you." Peter continued and Miles disappeared under the desk again. He then saw him standing up victoriously, picking up the computer as he moved to stand under the entrance. He raised the computer above his head, signalling to Peter to pull it up. He shot his web and started pulling it up when it connected with the plastic. 

 

_Incoming call:_

_Mr. Stark_

 

"Voicemail, Karen. Can't talk right now." He whispered again, aggravated. The icon disappeared and he placed the computer next to him, moving away from the entrance as well. 

 

He saw two webs connect with the ceiling of the lab and Miles launched himself up, landing on the top of the shaft with a slight bang. He quickly pulled the webbing in, not wanting to leave behind a trace and returned the entrance cover. He then carefully dropped on the bottom of the shaft and gestured for Peter to go. 

 

Peter pulled the computer under his arm, being careful not to drop it and attract attention, as he began crawling forward. 

 

When he reached the exit he lowered the computer down and slowly opened the shaft, checking the perimeter. 

 

"No one here." He whispered as he crawled out. Miles handed him the computer and crawled out himself. 

 

When Peter placed his feet on the ground he looked at Miles. "How're we gonna get back?" He asked. 

 

"The bus." Miles answered as if it was a dumb question.

 

"With that?" He gestured towards the computer. 

 

"Yup."

 

_Incoming call:_

_Mr. Stark._

 

"Karen, I _told_ you I can't talk right now." Peter snapped. The icon disappeared again and a message popped up shortly afterwards. 

 

 _Mr Stark: Kid, if you don't answer I swear to God I will kill you_. 

 

"Send him a text that I can't talk right now." Peter spoke, annoyance in his voice. The message closed and he looked at Miles. 

 

"We should get out as soon as possible." Miles says. Peter only nods and they walk over to the stop in a hurried pace. They sat down at the bench, the computer between them. 

 

"Peter?" Karen spoke.

 

"Yeah?" He asked, making sure no one was watching him. As he did he spot the bus arriving. He got up and nudged Miles to get up as well. 

 

"Boss has called you five more times, should I tell him something?"

 

"You can actually talk to him?" 

 

"Yeah, when you connected me to the main system, FRIDAY was given the ability to contact me at any given time."

 

"Oh. Tell him I'm okay, just can't speak right now. We should be at the Tower in about two hours." 

 

"Okay, Peter."

 

Miles grabs the computer and they get on the bus, sitting in the back again. 

 

+++

 

Two hours later they get off the bus, couple of blocks from the Tower. Peter glances at the plastic box in Miles' hands, worry gnawing at him

 

 _How are we gonna explain that? We weren't supposed to get anywhere near Kingpin without Mr. Stark. I'm pretty sure he's gonna kill us. We should've at least told Ms. Potts._ Peter bites his lip, stomach feeling tight. 

 

"Hey." Miles starts, grabbing Peter's attention. "Stop whatever you're thinking. I can feel the negativity radiating from you."

 

"Just…how're we gonna explain _that_." Peter gestures towards Miles. 

 

"Don't worry about it. I got it. You just relax and leave it to me." Miles orders. 

 

They round the corner towards the Stark Tower, the distance between them and the building closing in. Peter hesitantly enters the building and notices the receptionist looks up at them weird. Peter also notices that it's a different guy from when he first got here. 

 

_I wondered if he really fired him._

 

Peter swipes his card and passes through the gate before letting Miles through as well, the receptionist watching them silently. They head for the elevator and Peter presses the button. It arrives shortly, letting them in. Peter steps in and glances at Miles, hoping he'll suggest where they should go. He doesn't. 

 

The door close and they stand in silence before Peter speaks up. "Get us to the labs please." The lift starts moving upward and after a moment the door open with a ding, letting the kids out. Peter steps out and looks around, spotting Tony in his private lab. 

 

_Shit. Fuck._

 

He tries to back up into the elevator but bumps into Miles, stepping on his foot. Miles yelps and steps back, Peter losing his balance for a little while from the shock. 

 

"Watch where you step, jeez." Miles says, shaking his foot from the pain. Peter looks up to where Tony's sitting and can see the man now looking at them. He gestures for them to come to him, a cold look in his eyes. 

 

"Um… Miles?" 

 

The other teen looks up and follows Peter's gaze. 

 

"Shit."

 

They both step inside the lab, Peter punching in his code. "Um, hi there." Peter greets. 

 

"You brought me a present?" Tony asks, voice as cold as his eyes. 

 

"Uh-" 

 

"Should've at least wrapped it, don't you think?" 

 

"Mr. Stark-" 

 

"No, don't you _Mr. Stark_ me."

 

"I'm sorry."

 

"Where were you?!" He yells. "I was worried sick, you know that? You didn't tell anyone where you were going, just told Pepper you're heading out for patrol. _ON A SCHOOL DAY."_

 

"We didn't want to worry you, sir."

 

Tony just rolls his eyes at that comment and leaned back in his chair. "And what the fuck is _that_?" He asks pointing at Miles. 

 

"Dr. Olivia's computer, sir." Miles answered. Tony sighs, obviously tired, and lets his hand with which he gestured at Miles cover his face. "Why do you have that." He asks quietly. "More importantly, _how_ do you have that." He asks, looking back at the boys. 

 

"We borrowed it." Miles says. 

 

"You borrow-" Tony scuffs, "you _BORROWED_ it?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

Tony sighs again. "I don't have the energy for this shit. Do you at least have the password?" 

 

"No, sir."

 

"Well that's just fucking wonderful, ain't it? Both of you disobey the _one_ rule I set and go off to get a computer we don't have the fucking password to. You're lucky I know my way around these things, otherwise we'd be beyond fucked." He says and gestures at them, "bring it over."

 

They comply, coming closer to the tired man and Miles sets it on the ground before him. They plug it in and connect it to a screen. Tony then reaches and powers it on. Logo of the system showed up, shortly followed by the lock screen. 

 

  _Enter password:_

_3 tries left_

 

"Leave it with me, I'll have FRIDAY notify you when I'm done." Tony says and waves them off. Not wanting to piss off the man any further, they disappear from the lab and into the elevator. 

 

"I guess we won't need that friend of yours." Miles says, the door of the elevator closing behind them. 

 

"I guess we won't."

 

"Where to, Peter?" FRIDAY asks. 

 

"The penthouse." He mumbles and the elevator starts moving. They stand in silence for a moment before Peter takes off his mask and speaks again. "I thought you said you have it under control." He says quietly. 

 

"I did." Miles says, rolling his up to reveal his face. His eyes are serious and he seems to be chewing the inside of his cheek. 

 

"How is _that_ having it under control?" Peter spits. "We shouldn't have gone by ourselves. I should've told Mr. Stark. Or at least tell Ms. Potts where the fuck we're going." He takes a shaky breath, the elevator door opening. "I shouldn't have listened to you." He says quietly, sneaking a look at Miles before he exits. His face remains serious but there's hurt written in his eyes. 

 

Pepper is now sitting on one of the sofas, a laptop in her lap instead of a tablet.

 

"Hi, Ms. Potts." Peter greets. 

 

"Hey you." She smiles at them before adding. "And, please, call me Pepper. Ms. Potts is too formal."

 

Peter gives her a smile and nods, ignoring the anger still built up in him. "Is there anything for lunch?" He asks. 

 

"I had FRIDAY order Chinese for the whole team. Hope that's okay."

 

"Of course it is! I love Chinese!" 

 

"Miles?" She asks, light concern in her eyes. Miles looks up to meet her gaze. "Hm?" 

 

"You okay?" 

 

"Yeah, yeah." He says quickly. "I'll just… go change."

 

"Okay." She smiles. "Food should be here in twenty minutes. We'll eat down in the common room."

 

He nodded silently and walked over to his room, leaving Peter behind. He sighs and walks into the kitchen before pouring himself a glass of water. As he drank he glanced at Pepper, who has now returned to work. 

 

"Pepper?"

 

"Hm?" She asks, not raising her eyes from the screen. 

 

"Are you mad?" Now she looked up, her eyes searching for Peter's. "I know we should've told Mr. Stark. Or at least you. We just didn't think Mr. Stark would let us go." He paused, looking down, "Not after last time." He put the now empty glass besides him, his hands grabbing the countertop. 

 

"Peter," she sighs, "you should apologise to Tony, not me. He was worried sick about you. He didn't know where you were, you weren't answering your phone… it's natural that he freaked out." She says, voice calm but a little sad. Peter looked up, meeting her eyes. "I know, I just… Miles had a good point of Iron Man not being a stealthy suit and-" he cut himself off. "I'll apologise to him when I see him next."

 

She gave him a small smile. "I'm glad."

 

Peter gestured towards the hall before speaking again. "I'll go change." He lets go of the furniture he was holding onto and walks from the kitchen and into his room. He presses the symbol on his chest, the suit releasing its grab on him. He lets it fall to the floor before picking it up and throwing it on the bed with his mask. He quickly finds his jeans and shirt again and pulls them on. 

 

_Gross._

 

His phone vibrates with a new message. When Peter opens it he can see it's from Ned. 

 

 

_Today_

_Ned: what do you mean? Where the fuck did you go?!_

_11:01 am_

 

Peter sighs before typing in a response. 

 

_Nothing at this point_

_11:01 am_

_We snuck out of the tower to get this computer to help us get home_

_11:02 am_

_Mr. stark yelled at us :(_

_11:02 am_

_Ned: jesus christ, pete_

_11:02 am_

_Ned: who'd you snuck out with?_

_11:02 am_

_Ned: the hospital guy?_

_11:02 am_

_Yeah, miles_

_11:03 am_

_I just…_

_11:03 am_

_I shouldnt have trusted him_

_11:03 am_

_Now mr. stark is mad at me for a dumbass reason_

_11:04 am_

_Ned: it's not a dumbass reason…_

_11:04 am_

_Ned: he has a point_

_11:04 am_

_Thanks, ned…_

_11:04 am_

_Ned: sorry, gtg_

_11:04 am_

_Ned: you'll come to school?_

_11:04 am_

_Fuck_

_11:04 am_

_Forgot about that_

_11:05 am_

_Ned: nice. see ya tomorrow then_

_11:05 am_

 

Peter puts his phone back into his pocket. He sits down on his bed but instead of landing on the covers as he expected, he keeps on falling. Suddenly the pain is back, tearing right through every cell in his body. He lands on the hard wooden floor, the rest of his air being knocked from his lungs. He gasps for oxygen but nothing comes, planting more panic into him. His cells burn further, the lack of oxygen amplifying the already existing pain. 

 

And then the pain stops. The sudden end making him gasp. 

 

And then he screams, the scream tearing its way from his throat involuntarily. He thinks he can feel tears sliding down his cheeks but he's not sure. He gasps for air again, oxygen finally being able to enter his lungs. 

 

Only now does he realise he's under his bed. He looks frantically around himself, the bed being too low for him to turn himself. He's trying to figure out a way to get out, panic gnawing at his mind again. He takes a shaky breath and then the door are sent flying open, the loud noise making him flinch. 

 

"Peter?!" He can hear Pepper yell. "FRIDAY, call for Tony. I don't care how pissed he is he needs to get here _RIGHT NOW_."

 

"On it, ma'am."

 

"Peter?" Pepper asks again, panic in her voice. Peter tries to speak but nothing comes, his vocal cords betraying him. He does start to cough though, alerting Pepper of where he may be located. 

 

Soon her head appears in Peter's field of vision, relief mixed with panic written on her face. "Pete?" She asks again. "What's wrong?" 

 

"Just-" he coughs again. "Just help me out."


	8. You have no right-

Pepper helped Peter from under the bed and helped him sit next to it, his back resting against the wooden frame. "Are you okay?" She asks, worry still in her voice even though she's trying to hide it. She sits next to him, eyeing him for any more signs of pain.

 

"Yeah, just… The wrong dimension and stuff," he looks up to meet her eyes and tries to give her a smile but he thinks it came off more like a grimace. "not exactly supposed to be here." He chuckles lightly, trying to lighten the atmosphere. It doesn't really work, though, and he notices hard landings of feet in the corridor. Tony running from the lift.

 

"FRIDAY?" Tony asks, panic in his voice.

 

"Left guest room, boss."

 

The running is now close enough for Pepper to hear as well and she turns around as Tony bursts into the room. "What's happening?!" His eyes land on Peter. "Pete?"

 

"Just the glitch. I'm guessing Pepper didn't know about it?"

 

Tony looks a little taken aback by that. "Pepper?" He asks, confused by the change in name.

 

Peter looks down at his hands, nervous. "Yeah, she asked me to call her that. Is there- is there a problem?"

 

"No, just surprised you're on first name basis with my fiancée but not me." He says as he comes over and sits down next to Peter. "Just call me Tony, okay?"

 

"Okay," he says quietly. "I'm sorry about what happened." He says after a minute, his voice full of doubt. "I know it was stupid…but Miles insisted we have to go alone-" he looks up to meet Tony's eyes before looking down again quickly. "I did let Ned know, though. If that's any help to my case."

 

Pepper gets up quietly and leaves, excusing herself that she needs to continue working, closing the door behind her. They watch her leave and when the door close, Tony sighs.

 

"I am sure at least a quarter of my hair turned gray, you know?" He says, slight undertone of relief in his voice. The joke fell flat, creating a small period of silence between them. Tony takes in a deep breath and continues. "I know you meant well, kid, I just… What if something happened? What if I lost you too?"

 

Peter looks up, confused a bit. "My Peter… You can bring him back once you get home, right?" Tony says, looking in front of him.

 

"I… I don't know. I'm terribly sorry Mr. Sta- Tony. I haven't encountered anything like this before but if he has met up with the Tony Stark from my universe they will definitely figure something out. It may not be as fast as we are progressing, we have Miles who is experienced at this after all, but you can't lose hope."

 

He looks up at Tony again, who takes a shaky breath, sadness in his eyes. "I just hope he's okay. I don't know…I don't know how I would explain it to May if he never came back." He says, trying to keep his voice steady.

 

"If he's still there when I return I will do everything in my power to get him home."

 

"Thanks, kid." He says, voice breaking a little.

 

"Boss?" FRIDAY speaks.

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Ms. Potts asked me to inform you that the food is here. Would you like me to tell her you need a minute?"

 

"No FRI, it's okay. Tell her we're on our way." Tony says as he pushes himself to his feet.

 

"Yes, boss."

 

Tony offers a hand to Peter, who accepts it and is pulled to his feet.

 

+++

 

The elevator dings as the door open, letting them out into the common room. Piles of food have appeared on the kitchen counter with Steve and a long haired dude going through it. Peter looks closer at the guy, noticing he looks an awful lot like Jesus.

 

_What was the guy's name? Winter Soldier?_

 

"Suit yourself, kid." Tony says and pats Peter on the shoulder. Peter hesitantly steps towards the counter, opening a couple of boxes before landing on some noodles with chicken. He picks up the box and looks around for chopsticks. He goes through the boxes a bit more but with no success. Tony must have noticed his confusion because he appears behind him shortly, tapping him on the shoulder.

 

"There's chopsticks in the first drawer, with the other utensils." He gestures towards it. Peter mumbles a quick thank you before taking out a pair of chopsticks. He sits down at the table and is soon joined by Steve and the Winter Soldier, each sitting at either side of the table. He can feel Steve looking at him but he tries to ignore it, beginning to eat his meal. Steve soon begins a conversation with the Winter Soldier, his eyes remaining on Peter for a little while.

 

"FRIDAY? Where's the other kid?" Tony asks, sitting down behind the table with a box of his own. Peter looks up at Tony, noticing that both the Winter Soldier and Steve are looking at him as well.

 

"Mr. Morales is reporting he's not hungry, apparently he will come down to eat later."

 

Tony frowns at that a little and looks up at Peter. "Doesn't he have a metabolism like you, kid?" He gestures at him with his chopsticks. Peter made sure to swallow his food before shrugging.

 

"I… I guess?"

 

Steve looks from Tony to Peter and back to Tony. "Who the hell is Morales?" He turns back to Peter. "And who the hell are you?"

 

"I- um… I'm Peter, sir."

 

"How come I've never seen you around, Peter?"

 

"He's an intern of mine." Tony steps in, seeing the panic on the kid's face. "We spend most of the time in my lab."

 

Steven rolls his eyes and looks back at Tony. "Cut the bullshit, Tony."

 

"Watch your language, Rogers! Jeez." Tony responds with a tint of humor at the man's annoyance.

 

"I really am his intern." Peter speaks.

 

"See? Why do you always have to assume I'm keeping something from you?"

 

"Cuz you _usually do_!" Steve responds, raising his voice a little.

 

"Hey!" Pepper yells at them, sitting down next to Tony. "Shut it! I don't want another single argument at the table, understood?"

 

Tony sighs before responding. "Yes, ma'am."

 

Steve mumbles a sorry before digging back into his food.

 

"Boss? Mr. Morales is requesting permission to leave the building, how should I proceed?"

 

Peter frowns at that. _Requesting permission? Can't he just leave?_

 

"Tell him that there's no way I'm letting him leave this compound without an adult any time soon. Keep everything on lockdown."

 

_Oh._

 

"Of course."

 

Steve gives the man a confused look, raising one eyebrow at the answer. Moments later the elevator door open, letting out an angry Miles in his Spider-Man suit, gripping his mask in his hand. There's fury in his eyes as he walks forward, pointing a finger at Tony.

 

"What the _fuck_ do you mean I can't leave the compound?! You have no right to keep me here! You are _not_ my guardian, you are _not_ responsible for me, my parents are probably worried shitless-"

 

"Hey! Watch your fucking mouth, kid!" Tony barks back at him. He looks like he wants to continue but Miles is faster.

 

"Oh, so you're allowed to swear but I can't?" Miles spits. He's at the table now, standing next to the Winter Soldier, right in front of Tony. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" He says, landing his hands on the table.

 

"I am the guy who agreed to get your fucking ass back home before you turn into _fucking glitch dust_."

 

"Well I'm pretty sure I would be home by now if you WEREN'T SLACKING OFF." He screams at him. With that Tony loses it. He rams his fists into the table as he stands up, making everyone and everything jump.

 

"I'm gonna beat yo fucking ass if you don't apologise right this instant." Tony spits between gritted teeth.

 

Miles scuffs. "Oh, like you could do anything to me without your suit." He scoffs before pausing, scanning the angry man as he straightens out, trying to seem taller than he is, "I'm going out." He says, heading for one of the windows, pulling his mask over his head. "FRIDAY, if you don't open the window, I swear to god, I will break it."

 

"Boss?"

 

"Just let him go. What do I care." He says, sitting back down. And with that he's gone. Tony notices that everyone's staring at him and he looks at his audience before barking. "What?"

 

"What was that about?" Steve asks.

 

"None of your goddamn business." He says, digging back into his food angrily. Peter puts more food into his mouth, thinking for a while.

 

"I should go after him." Peter says, standing up. Tony sighs at that claim, "Do whatever you want."

 

"Thanks, Tony."

 

+++

 

Peter presses the button in his hand, powering on the suit. He's immediately greeted with Karen.

 

"Good afternoon, Peter, are we going on patrol?"

 

"God, I wish." He sighs. "Can you, by any chance, track Miles?"

 

"Yes, Mr. Stark put a tracker on his suit. Would you like me to pull up his location?"

 

"Yes, please." He says as he exits the room and walks into the great room. He looks around and notices the balcony door behind the sofas.

 

"Pulling up location of Miles Morales." A mini map appears in his right bottom corner with Miles' location highlighted. He glances at it as he opens the balcony door. Miles must be outside of the mini map's range, hence there's only a yellow arrow pointing right, the direction he went in.

 

Peter takes a couple of steps back to have some place to pick up speed. He glances at the map once more, the arrow has moved upwards a little. Then he breaks into a sprint and skilfully executes a flip over the railing.

 

He shouts in excitement as he's falling, the wind beating his falling body. He straightens out and shoots a web, waiting for it to attach. When it finally does he's only about two dozens meters from the pavement and he screams once more, the thrill roaming through his body.

 

He's quickly picking up more speed, noticing he's getting closer and closer to Miles with every second.

 

_He must've stopped._

 

He can see the yellow dot on the map now and as he shoots his next web he brings himself onto a lamppost, landing elegantly. He stands up and looks towards the highlighted spot. It shows he should be on the public library but he can't see him.

 

"Karen, can you highlight him, please?" He asks, squinting. Moments later Miles' figure gets highlighted in yellow and Peter notices him lying on the roof.

 

He webs up there and lands on the edge, looking at Miles. He still has his mask on and seems to be playing on his phone. He glances over at Peter, who begins to walk towards him.

 

"Hey." Peter says.

 

Miles locks his phone and puts it down on his chest, placing his hands under his head. "Did Stark send you?"

 

"No." He says, sitting down next to him, Miles keeping his eyes fixated at the sky.

 

"Then why are you here?"

 

"Because we need you. Tony is not going to not admit it but you are the only one experienced in this multidimensional shit and…and if we wanna get home anytime soon I'll need you to help us." Peter says, trying to read any emotion from Miles, the mask making it quite impossible. He can hear him sigh quietly but doesn't say anything back. "Look, I understand if you don't wanna come back to the Tower. I can… I can ask my aunt if it's okay for you to stay with us. Our apartment is nowhere near as fancy nor as big as Tony's but… it's cozy. We can brainstorm there and we could go patrolling and hopefully, at one point… get home." He falls quiet for a moment, waiting for Miles to say something. When he remains silent he tries to continue. "What do you say? Partners?" He tries, extending his hand.

 

Miles gives it a moment and just as Peter was gonna let his hand drop he pushes up on one elbow and takes his hand. "Partners." He says. Peter had to resist every urge not to hug the other teen, such simple word bringing him so much joy.

 

Miles stomach growls in protest of the missing lunch. "Lunch?" He looks at Peter, letting go of his hand.

 

"Yeah, lunch sounds good. Is it okay if we get the food from the Tower? I'm not exactly liquid right now." He chuckles.

 

"Yeah, I guess it's fine." Miles says, sitting up. They both get to their feet and walk towards the edge of the building, jumping from it and begin swinging. They swing for a while before the quiet is interrupted with Peter's AI.

 

"You have an incoming call from May." Karen says.

 

"Uh, just a moment." He tells her before yelling at Miles who trailed off to the right a little. "Miles? Can we slow down? My aunt is calling me and I want to talk to her in peace."

 

Miles is quick to catch up to Peter. "It's even fine if we stop." He says as he zips towards a building, landing on its side. Peter follows his lead and lands next to him, turning to rest his back against the wall.

 

"Answer call." He says, hoping May is still on the phone.

 

"Peter Benjamin Parker, why are you not in school." She says, voice mixed with anger and concern.

 

"Huh?"

 

"I just got a call from the school saying you didn't come in today."

 

_Fuck. Tony did say it was a school day._

 

"Yeah, I uh… I got caught up in work, I'm really sorry, May."

 

"Peter, don't lie to me. It's Thursday. Were you sick? If you stayed up too late you're never sleeping there again on a school night."

 

"No, no, I really did get caught up in work. I wanted to finish something in the morning and suddenly it was lunch."

 

"I knew it was a bad idea to let you stay the night." She mumbles to herself. "You could've at least let me know before the school did."

 

"I'm sorry, May." He glances over at Miles who seems to be pointing at himself violently. "Anyway, I know this is kind of a bad timing but remember the friend I mentioned? The one that was in a hospital?"

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Well, he got in a bad argument with his family and I was wondering if he could stay for a couple of nights."

 

There's silence from the other end for a good moment. Anxiety begun to fill Peter's mind, reminding him that they don't have the money to feed an extra mouth. Especially one which eats like him.

 

"Yes, of course." She says finally, trying to hide worry from her voice but Peter catches it. "He's okay, May, just needs a place to stay."

 

"Not what I'm worried about." She responds quietly.

 

"Oh… we'll figure it out. Don't worry. Anyway, I gotta go. I'll see you later, okay?"

 

"Okay, love you, Pete."

 

"Love you too, May." And with that the call ends, the icon with May's name closing.

 

They resume swinging until they reach the Tower. They run up to the penthouse balcony and Peter reaches for the now closed door once he lands on the tiled floor. Miles seems to hesitate for a bit but then follows after him.

 

The penthouse is empty, their footsteps now seeming too loud in the room. Miles heads for the guestroom, saying he'll grab his stuff. Peter follows loosely, remembering this isn't like his second home back in his universe. He can't just keep his shit here.

 

"We should also change, May doesn't know my identity here." Peter says. Miles hums in response and heads for his room.

 

Peter pushes the door to his own room open before taking off his suit . He snatches his backpack from the floor and throws in the suit before putting on his clothes. He grabs the backpack again and walks over to Miles' room so he can throw his stuff in as well. Apparently Tony had Pepper buy him some clothes so he would have something else besides his spider-man outfit. The shirt is a size too big for him, making him look even skinnier than he already is. He also has his shorts and sneakers on, the ones which he wears over his suit.

 

Peter zips up the backpack and throws it over his shoulders. They take the elevator to the common room, letting them into the, now empty, open space.

 

The piles of food have disappeared and the kitchen has been cleaned from the dishes. Peter opens the two doored fridge and sees the rest of the food stuffed in there. There's about ten boxes of leftovers which he takes half of and puts it in his bag. He quickly scribbles a note that he took them and that he's going home.

 

They ride to the ground floor after that, taking the tube to Peter's apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all. Might take a little longer for the next chapter to come out. I don't have it finished yet but I'll do my best to make it decently sized. Hope you enjoyed! See you soon!


	9. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: panick attack! I have put the first word of each paragraph in bold so skip over those. Anyway, enjoy!

He opens the front door and listens for any signs of May being home. When he can't find any he and Miles quickly slip inside. Peter closes the door and heads for the open kitchen. He stores the leftovers in the fridge, leaving two boxes out for them to eat. 

 

He pops them into the microwave before turning to Miles. "You wanna watch something while we eat?" 

 

Miles turns from the living room he was examining to look at Peter. "Oh, yeah, sure. What do you wanna watch?" 

 

"Do you know Brooklyn Nine-Nine?" 

 

Miles shakes his head in response. 

 

"Oh, you'll love it. It's a sitcom about detectives. Plus, unlike many sitcoms it's not actually cringe." He laughs lightly, taking out the warm food and fishing out chopsticks from a drawer with his free hand. He walks over to the sofa, Miles taking one box from him as they sit down. Peter grabs the remote and turns on Netflix, selecting the show and letting it play from the beginning. He offers Miles a pair of chopsticks which he gladly accepts as they begin to eat, enjoying the show. 

 

They get through five episodes, laughter occasionally exploding in the apartment, when the door open quietly. 

 

"Hey, May!" Peter calls out at her. He looks at the empty boxes on the coffee table.  _ Should probably clean that up.  _ He thinks, reaching over. He gets up with them, heading to the kitchen to throw them out. He glances at May who's untying her shoes.  _ She looks tired.  _ He thinks sadly. 

 

He places the empty boxes on the counter and heads towards her, stopping in front of her. 

 

"Hey." He says gently as she looks up to him. She smiles at him softly, with something in her eyes which Peter can't exactly read. He pulls her into a hug which she gladly accepts. "It's okay." He says, rubbing a hand on her back. "Everything's gonna be okay. I'm here."

 

_ I wonder what happened.  _

 

"Do you wanna talk about it?" He says, pulling away a little to get a look at her face. There's light bags under her eyes which, upon further inspection, look covered up with makeup. May shakes her head lightly and puts a hand on Peter's cheek, rubbing her thumb gently.

 

"Thanks, Pete." She tries to give a small smile. Her hand falls from Peter's cheek as she pushes besides him. 

 

"Hi, Ms. Parker." Miles greets politely, watching her enter the great room, the show now paused. 

 

"Please, just May's okay."

 

"I'm Miles." He gestures to himself. 

 

"Nice to meet you, Miles." She smiles at him. She then notices the boxes on the counter and frowns in confusion. Peter didn't necessarily see the gesture but felt it from her body language. 

 

"We had take-out at the Tower. I took some of the leftovers for us to eat later." 

 

May turned to face him, still puzzled. "You sure it's okay you took them?" 

 

"Yeah, Tony said we're free to eat as much as we wanted." 

 

She nodded in understanding. She seemed to notice that Peter went from calling Tony by his last name to first name basis but didn't say anything about it. She picks up the empty boxes, putting the chopsticks into the sink before throwing the boxes away. She heads for her room afterwards. Peter's eyes linger on her back and when she turns to close the door behind her, their eyes meet for a second. She gives him a brief smile and then disappears. 

 

"Should I tell her?" Peter asks quietly. 

 

"Absolutely." 

 

"What if she doesn't understand?" 

 

"She will." 

 

"No, what if she doesn't let me do this anymore?" Peter's eyes wander to meet Miles'. 

 

"I don't know her, Pete. She does, however, deserve to know if she catches one of us glitching. Can you imagine the panic if she didn't?" 

 

"I think she'll be panicking regardless of knowing. Plus I'm pretty sure you're talking about something else." Peter says with a light chuckle.

 

"The dimension hopping?" 

 

"No, being Spider-Man." 

 

"I really don't know. She does deserve to know but she isn't your aunt." 

 

"I should… go check if I have anything for school tomorrow." He gestures towards his room. Miles nods silently and gets up. "You can- you can stay here." Peter adds quickly. 

 

Miles just smiles and heads for the room Peter gestured towards before. Peter follows after him, seeing Miles push open the door to his room. He can hear him chuckle to himself. "Why do you have a bunk bed?" 

 

"So Ned will have somewhere to sleep when he stays the night." Peter shrugs as he pushes past Miles and sits down at his table. Miles closes the door behind them and jumps on the upper bed. Literally. 

 

Peter looks up at grinning Miles. "You're such a kid." He tries to sound disapproving but the smile on his lips and in his eyes gives him out. 

 

"So are you!" He laughs as he lies down. "God, I'm tired." He mumbles. Peter can hear him rummaging through the pillows on the bed until he finds one that he likes and puts it under his head. Soon he can hear his breathing deepening, indicating he's falling asleep. 

 

He goes through the mess on his table and finds some chemistry and english homework. He digs into them, the time flying past as he scribbles down answers with a pencil. When he looks up at the time again, a little an hour has passed, and the clock now shows 4:56 pm. Miles looks like he's still sleeping and May doesn't seem to be needing them right at this moment. 

 

With that he scribbles a note for Miles that he's going out. He changes swiftly and once the suit envelops him he decides on one more thing. Grabbing the pencil again, he quickly scribbles down his phone number, incase Miles might need him. After that he heads out. 

 

"Good afternoon, Peter." 

 

"Hey, Karen. Anything happening?" 

 

She remains quiet for a second or two before answering. "No, I cannot see any unusual activity on any of the news channels." 

 

"Okay then. Connect me to Ned, will ya?" He says as he swings from his building and into the city. A small icon pops up in Peter's vision and he chuckles at the selfie of his best friend. The words  _ 'dialing…'  _ change into numbers as the call connect. 

 

"Hey, Pete. What's up?" 

 

"I'm out on patrol right now, care to join me?" 

 

"Of course! I'll check if anything's happening," Peter can hear his best friend walk over to his computer before typing emerges from the other end. There's silence for a moment before Ned speaks again. "Oh! We forgot to test the police thingy." More typing. 

 

"Police thingy?" 

 

"Yeah! Got us a way to tap into the police radio and radar so we can stay on track with what's happening." 

 

"Cute." Karen says. Peter swears that if she could she would chuckle alongside those words. 

 

"Hey! not everyone is Iron Man's top tech AI." Ned complains but there's a hint of laughter at Karen's joke in his voice. "Is it normal for your AI to sass me?" He asks, now openly chuckling while there's more typing in the background. "There's a B&E on 75th Avenue. At a building which corners 166th street." As he finishes his sentence Karen highlights the shortest path to the mentioned place. 

 

"On it. Do we have any more info?" 

 

"No, only that it was reported just a minute ago." 

 

"Good catch, Ned!" He says, picking up speed towards the building. When he gets there,  he resolves it pretty quickly. Just a robbery of someone's apartment, nothing too difficult. He webbed the intruders to a wall and left before the police got there. 

 

He spends the next couple of hours stopping muggins and helping people out. He was sitting on a lamppost, eating his second dinner, when Karen notified him it was nearing eleven and he should head home. 

 

And so he did. He swung towards the apartment and opened his window at shortly past eleven. Miles was nowhere to be seen and the door from his room were, fortunately, closed. 

 

He climbed through the open window and landed silently on his floor, closing the window behind him. He released the suit and wiggled out of it. He quickly stuffed it into his backpack and pulled on an oversized shirt. 

 

He looked around, searching for any clues of Miles but everything seemed the same. The note he left behind was still in the same place and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. 

 

He cracked the door to his room open and slipped into the hallway. Miles was sitting on the sofa, the tv playing a show which was barely above audible. If it weren't for his enhanced hearing he wouldn't have picked it up. 

 

Miles turns around to look at him. "Hey, how was patrol?" He says, gesturing for Peter to come sit down. 

 

"Uneventful." He says as he jumps over the sofa and lands on it. 

 

"What are you watching?" 

 

Miles just gestures towards it for Peter to look. He continued watching Brooklyn 99. A smile played on Peter's lips as he looked back. "I'm glad you like it." 

 

They sit in silence for about five minutes, watching the show as the episode comes to an end. "I'm gonna go sleep." Peter says, standing up. "You should go too or May's gonna kill you." 

 

Miles chuckles. "Yeah, I can imagine. Besides, I plan on patrolling in the morning while you're in school." When Peter looks like he's going to complain Miles quickly continues. "I have your phone number, so if anything happens, I'll let you know." 

 

"Okay." Peter says slowly. "Just send me a text to I can save your number."

 

"Will do." 

 

+++

 

School passed by relatively quickly. Peter was distracted on most classed, checking his phone periodically to make sure no alarms were going off. Before he knew it he was walking into the cafeteria for lunch. He joined Ned and MJ at their regular table, sitting down across of them, placing his tray at the table. 

 

"Where have you been?" MJ asks almost immediately, that cold look of hers burning into his eyes. 

 

"Oh, I uh- something came up at the Tower and I had to be there."

 

"What would be so important that it required you to be there?" 

 

_ God, she was good.  _ "Uh- you know. Avenger…stuff."

 

MJ just raises an eyebrow and continues eating. Ned gives him a horrified look. "What?" Peter asks. 

 

Ned glances briefly at MJ before whispering angrily. "You haven't told her that yet!" 

 

"Oh! That. She probably figured it out anyway." He shrugs. 

 

"Figured out what?" MJ asks, her eyes locking with Peter's again. 

 

"That internship cover-up."

 

"Oh, yeah. You're a horrible liar. Plus Ned almost told me on multiple occasions." She smirks, seeing the guy turn red. "So what happened with the Avengers?" 

 

"God, it...it's such a long sto-" He's cut of by the pain again. It lasts only a couple of seconds this time and thankfully he doesn't fall through the bench. Nor does he scream. When the pain leaves his body he hides his face in his hands. "And starts with that." He mumbles, more to himself than anyone else. 

 

He can see Ned looking around hectically from the corner of his eye. When Ned relaxes he concludes that nobody saw anything. He looks up at them again. "So long story short, I'm from a different dimension and will die if I stay here too long." 

 

MJ clicks her tongue, interest in her eyes that she tries to cover up. "Cool." She says nonchalantly. 

 

They spend the rest of the break chatting, quickly bidding their goodbyes once the bell rings. 

 

When the final bell rings, dismissing classes for the day Peter's phone buzzes. He opens it as he makes his way over to his locker. 

 

_ Today _

_ Miles: hey, you going to the tower?  _

_  2:45 pm _

_ Idk, wanted to get in some patrolling _

_ 2:45 pm _

_ Maybe in the evening  _

_ 2:45 pm _

_ Everything ok?  _

_ 2:45 pm _

_ Miles: yeah _

_  2:46 pm _

 

Peter notices Ned waiting for him by his locker and he puts his phone away. "Hey, Ned." He greets, opening his locker. 

 

"Hey, sorry, forgot to mention this but we had a sleepover planned for tonight. Is it okay if I come anyway? May's expecting me and my parents are leaving for the weekend." 

 

Peter looks over at him as he puts away some of his books and replaces them with others.

 

"Oh, yeah, sure! Miles is crashing at the top bed though, so you'll have to sleep in mine. I'll take the couch." His phone buzzes again. He fishes it out and looks at the text. 

 

_ Miles: thought maybe you could start working at the goober with stark. We could go check out the collider later. See when it might be ready _

_  2:48 pm _

 

Peter sighs heavily and runs a hand through his hair. 

 

"Everything okay?" Ned asks. 

 

"Yeah." Peter responds tiredly, not even he himself convinced by his answer. 

 

_ We are never going anywhere without tonys permission ever again  _

_ 2:48 pm _

_ Hell blast us into last week _

_ 2:48 pm _

_ Miles: whatever _

_  2:48 pm _

 

"Why does he have to be so fucking difficult?" He mumbles, slamming his locker shut and slinging his bag over his shoulders. Ned doesn't respond and they walk silently towards the exit. When they step outside Ned starts nudging him. "Why is Happy here?" He glances at his best friend. "You going to the Tower?" 

 

Peter frowns and looks at the familiar flashy Audi parked in the parking lot. "Not that I know of." He heads towards the car, Ned trailing close behind him. When they reach the Audi, Peter knocks on the passenger window and waits for it to go down. He leans on the open window so he can meet Happy’s eyes and smiles. "Hey, Happy!" He greets. 

 

"Get in, kid." He glances over at Ned. "You too, Ted."

 

"Ned." Peter corrects but obliges. He opens the backseat door and pops in, Ned getting in after him. 

 

"Whatever, Boss wants to see you."

 

When Ned shuts the door the car starts moving. "Did he say why?" 

 

"No, just told me to get you two."

 

Peter hums in response and looks over at Ned who looks like he's in heaven and hell at the same time. "Iron-Man wants to meet me?!" He squeals. The window between the front and back seats starts to roll up and Peter chuckles. He meets Happy’s eyes in the rear mirror before the window separates them. 

 

"Yeah, apparently. Just don't embarrass me too much."

 

"Yes, of course! I wouldn't dare to think about doing so."

 

Peter laughs at his friend's response and they continue chatting the rest of the drive. 

 

+++

 

**When** Happy dropped them off at the Tower and they entered the elevator, anxiety begun to settle into Peter.  _ What if he wants to tell me to never show up again? That he won't help me get home? Will he just give us the computer and tell us to get the fuck out?  _

 

" **Good** afternoon, Peter, Mr. Leeds. How was school?" FRIDAY asks. 

 

" **Scho** -school was fine." Peter stutters, tripping over his words slightly. "Take us to the lab, please." He says, trying to keep his voice calm. His heart is beginning to hammer against his chest, making it harder to focus on breathing properly. 

 

**As** the elevator begins to move, FRIDAY speaks again. "Peter, your heart rate seems to be unnaturally high, would you like me to alert Mr. Stark?" 

 

" **No** , no. It's fine… everything's fine." He says, inhaling sharply. 

 

" **You** sure you're okay, Pete?" Ned asks. 

 

" **Yeah** , just… Anxiety." He tries to give his best friend a reassuring smile but by the look of his face it probably did the exact opposite. 

 

**The** door open with a ding, revealing an empty lab. Peter walks over to Tony's table, seeing that the computer was still plugged in. He sat down in his mentor's chair and woke up the holograms. The report they saw with Miles popped up on one screen. Construction plans appeared on a different one and a web search of dimensional travelling on the last. He tries to focus on the report but his racing heart and thoughts distract him too much. He makes the mistake of focusing on one, his mind taking it rapidly downhill from there. 

 

**_He's_ ** _ not doing this for you. He couldn't care less about you. He just wants his Peter. He wouldn't help you if his life wasn't at stake.  _

 

**He** inhales sharply, stealing a glance at Ned who sat down awkwardly at the sofa placed against one of the walls. He wants to go over and ask his friend to talk to him but-

 

**_God_ ** _ , so selfish. You only think of yourself, don't you? You shouldn't be dragging Ned into  _ your  _ mess. Actually you shouldn't be dragging  _ anyone _ into your mess. You wanted to tell May you are Spider-Man? Just so she could worry about losing you too?  _

 

**Peter** chocks on a sob which comes out more as a pained and broken inhale. "Peter?" He hears Ned call, flinching at the concern. It's hard to focus on his voice, it seems so far away yet it seems too loud. "Peter, look at me." He can see Ned crouching down beside him now, his eyes trying to meet Peter's. 

 

**_Just_ ** _ what kind of hero are you?  _

 

**Peter** fixes his eyes on the floor, unable to look at Ned, at his fucking best friend. Tears seem to be forming in his eyes as his vision suddenly gets blurrier. Peter tries to blink them away but they just spill over. 

 

**_Pathetic_ ** _.  _

 

" **Let's** go sit on the couch, okay?" 

 

**He** nods and lets himself be pulled to his feet. He can feel Ned's arm wrapping around his middle from behind, steadying his shaky figure. He is slowly guided towards the couch and Ned carefully sits him down, taking a seat next to him. Ned then slowly lets go of him and puts his hand on his knee. "Peter? I want you to do something for me, okay?" 

 

**Peter** nods slightly and lets out another sob, the tears falling freely now. He's trying to breathe properly but his breath is getting stuck in his throat. 

 

" **Okay** . I want you to focus on this lab we're sitting in. Look around and tell me five things you can see."

 

**Peter** nods again and looks up. He takes in a shallow shaky breath. "I can see Mr. Stark's table." He looks at Ned for confirmation if he's doing it okay. Ned smiles and nods. He looks back. "I can see his chair." He pauses, not knowing what to say without sounding dumb. 

 

" **It** really doesn't matter what you say. Just tell me three more things you can see." Ned says, picking up at his friend's worry. 

 

" **I** can see the holograms. The…the piled up empty cups of coffee." His gaze returns to the table. "There's also a pile of paperwork."

 

**_Your_ ** _ fault. You're preventing him from working.  _

 

" **Okay** , that's good! Now we'll go down a number, okay? Can you tell me four things around you you can touch? Something you can reach your hand out to and feel."

 

**"I** can… I can touch the couch." And so he does. "Your hand." His own follows his words. "My hair." Pause. "My heart." He places a hand over his still racing heart before letting it drop to his lap. The tears have stopped now. 

 

" **Very** good, Pete!" He says, squeezing his knee lightly. "How about three things you can hear?" 

 

**Peter** , to his own surprise, chuckles. "Your voice and your heart." He looks up at his best friend who's smiling at him proudly. Then he frowns. "I can also hear the elevator coming down."

 

" **FRIDAY** ?" Ned says quickly, picking up on what Peter's saying. 

 

" **Yes** , Mr. Leeds?" 

 

" **Don't** let anyone in. Please, not even Mr. Stark. We need a couple more minutes, okay?" 

 

" **I'll** try." 

 

" **Thank** you." 

 

" **My** pleasure."

 

" **Okay** , Peter." He says, looking at his friend who managed to zone out into panic again.

 

**_If_ ** _ Stark wasn't gonna kick you out he will now. Making his AI go against him? That's a new low. _

 

" **Hey** ." he says softly, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and pulling him into his side. Peter doesn't protest, just sobs quietly _.  _

 

" **Pete** ." He squeezes him gently. "Stay with me, buddy. How about you tell me about two things you can smell?" 

 

**There's** silence for a moment, Peter not really wanting to speak but knowing he should. "I can smell oil." He says quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. "I can also smell the old coffee."

 

" **That's** really good, Pete! How about one last thing, huh?" When Peter nods into his side he continues. "Can you tell me one thing you taste?" 

 

**As** Ned asks that he realises that he can actually taste blood. He has subconsciously begun chewing on his cheek and it's now bleeding a little. "I can taste blood." He says. Realising just how bad and weird it sounds he hurries to explain himself. "Not like that! I, I bit my cheek and-" 

 

"It's okay. You don't have to explain it." Ned says gently. They stay in silence for some time, traces of tears drying on Peter's face. He wants to stay there, hidden in his best friend's side, not having to face the anger and disappointment of his mentor. 

 

_ Weak.  _

 

_ Shut up.  _

 

He inhales and exhales deeply, relaxing his body further. He has managed to calm his breathing and his heart is almost at normal pace. The elevator door ding and open. Peter stiffens and burrows his face into Ned's shirt, refusing to look his mentor's way. 

 

_ He's watching you. Watching you and judging you. What kind of hero hides away from the consequences of his actions?  _

 

There's silence for a good minute before he hears the man speak. "Everything okay?" 

 

"Yeah, it is now." Ned responds. 

 

"What happened?" 

 

"I don't know. I just calmed him down from a panic attack, didn't wanna start bombarding him with questions right away."

 

" **Pete** ?" Tony asked, his voice and footsteps getting closer. Peter subconsciously grabbed onto Ned's shirt for comfort, his heart speeding up again. His friend gave him a reassuring squeeze which helped him relax a little but not enough. He could feel the man sit down next to him and place a hand on his knee. Peter refused the urge to flinch away from it and tightened his grip on Ned's shirt instead. "Hey, kid. Can you look at me, please?" 

 

**His** heart sped up even more, thoughts of panic rising.  _ He's pitying you. Stop acting so weak. You know what he'll tell you, at least have some dignity while you're at it.  _

 

**He** turned his face away from Ned a little, looking at the man but not daring to look at his face. 

 

" **What** happened, kid?" 

 

**Peter** only shakes his head, not trusting unselfish to speak. 

 

Tony starts rubbing small, reassuring circles into Peter's leg. "Hey, it's okay. You're not in any kind of trouble. Everything's okay." He pauses and Peter looks up to meet his eyes. They are gentle with a little concern sprinkled in them. "I wanted you to come help me with the override key. You always told me about how Ned here is really good with tech so I invited him too."

 

Peter frees himself from Ned's embrace a little but he's still leaning into his best friend's side. 

 

"If you're not feeling up to it we can start working on it tomorrow or Sunday if you'd like. What's most important is that you're okay."

 

Peter nods at that. "It's-it's okay, we can start today."

 

Tony smiles at him gently. "Okay, just don't push yourself. If you'll want to stop, we'll stop."

 

Peter nods again, smiling a little as well. Tony clasps his hands together, standing up. "Okay, how about we get something to eat before we start? You hungry?" He turns to the two kids on the couch. Both of them nod to the suggestion of snacks and they went up to the penthouse to retrieve some. 

 

Rest of the afternoon is spent with them building the override key they'll need in order to get Peter and Miles home. 


	10. Was that a bullet?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy.

When they finish they have Happy drop them off at the Parker's apartment. It's nearing nine as they enter the building and ride up the elevator. When they enter the apartment Peter calls out, announcing their arrival. To his surprise he's met with silence. He frowns and takes off his shoes before walking into the kitchen, noticing a note hanging on the fridge. 

 

_ Went to bed early, had a rough day. Don't stay up too late _

_ x May _

 

His frown deepens. He really hoped May was okay. She didn't look too good when he last saw her. 

 

"What's wrong?" He hears Ned ask. Peter just takes the note off the fridge and shows it to his friend. He looks at his friend as if he may have an answer. 

 

"What happened?" 

 

"I don't know." He says quietly, eyes falling back to the note. "Yesterday she came home exhausted and just went straight to her room. Barely said anything." He tightens his grip on the note subconsciously, the paper giving in and wrinkling. "Shit." He mumbles. He releases his grip and straightens it out before folding it and putting in his pocket. 

 

"You want something to eat?" He asks, popping the fridge open, chaning the subject. 

 

"Nah, I'm good."

 

Peter hums to his friend's answer and takes out the last box of Chinese. He can hear Ned walking away and towards his room. He opens the microwave and sets it for two minutes. 

 

"Peter?" He hears him call out. 

 

"Yeah?" 

 

He turns towards his room, seeing Ned's head popping from his room. "Didn't you say Miles way staying?" 

 

"Yeah?" He says, confused. He walks towards his room, leaving the food behind. The backpack he left in the kitchen is sitting on his chair but there is no sign of Miles. He takes out his phone. No messages from him. He opens his messaging app, clicking on their chat and then on the call icon. 

 

He puts his phone to his ear and listens to it ring. He's looking at his best friend with wide eyes, panic beginning to show in his features. 

 

The call connects and he's about to speak or sigh from relief or scream or something but then the robotic voice comes through. 

 

"You have reached the voicemail of  _ heyya, it's Miles, sorry I can't pick up! I'll try to call you!  _ After the-" 

 

Peter ends the call, bewildered eyes staring at his phone. The call closes and is replaced by his call history. He's not really looking at it, just staring blankly. They remain like that for a good minute. Silent, unmoving, in shock. Ned couldn't hear the call go to voicemail but must have figured it out. When Peter blinks he raises his eyes to search Ned's face. 

 

"Maybe he's still patrolling?" Ned asks. 

 

"He was out all day-" 

 

_ The tracker.  _ He remembers. He flicks his wrist and calls a web shooter on his left hand from the bracelet it was hidden in. He hands his phone to Ned who takes it silently as he goes to fetch his mask from his backpack. He pulls it on and is immediately greeted by Karen. 

 

"Good evening, Peter."

 

"Hey, Karen. Can you pull up Miles' location?" He asks.

 

"Of course." A hologram appears from his shooter, showing that Miles is at the Tower. 

 

He lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Thanks, Karen. You're the best." 

 

"My pleasure." 

 

With that he pulls off his mask and throws it away as well as his school backpack. The microwave beeps from the kitchen but neither of them move to get the food. He takes his phone back from his friend's hand and dials Tony. He picks up at the third ring. 

 

"Kid? What's wrong? Are you okay?" He asks, his voice echoing a little. _ I must be on speaker.  _

 

"Yeah, can you- can you get me Miles?" 

 

There's a momentary silence between them before Tony speaks again. "I don't know about Miles being in the Tower. FRIDAY?" 

 

"Mr. Morales is not present in the building."

 

"Peter?" Ned asks, seeing as his friend grew paler. He puts the call on speaker and goes to sit down on his bed. 

 

"He's- he's not there?" He asks, glancing back at his wrist, placing his phone on the bed as well. The hologram is still showing that Miles is at the Tower. 

 

"I guess not. Is everything okay? Talk to me, kid." 

 

"FRIDAY, has he been there today?"  _ Breathe. In and out.  _

 

"Mr. Morales came by in the morning for a brief minute. Never entered the building just stayed at the penthouse balcony."

 

Peter looks at his friend as he sits down next to him, his mask in hand. "Ca- can I?" He gestures towards it. Ned nods and he pulls it on. 

 

"Peter?" Tony's voice comes through but he's far away.  _ So _ far away. 

 

"Karen?" He asks, his voice shaking a little. "Can you zoom in on the tracker?" His eyes are fixed on the hologram as it zooms in, revealing the supposed location of Miles is on the penthouse balcony. 

 

He can faintly hear Ned talking to Tony. There's ringing in his ears, panic rising.  _ Something happened. Something happened and it's your fault- _

 

"The collider." He breathes out. 

 

"Come again?" Tony asks. 

 

"He's at the collider. He asked me to go check on the progress of it again and I told him no so he must've gone alone."

 

"Okay. Okay." He can hear Tony inhale sharply. "I'll meet you there, okay? It's gonna be okay, Pete."

 

"It's my fault. Something must've happened." He whispers. 

 

"Peter, listen to me. This is anything but your fault. You did the right thing. Now suit up and meet me there."

 

"Okay." He breathed out before the call ended. He looked up at his best friend who looked understanding and only a little disappointed. He ran a hand down his masked face before getting up and picking up the thrown away backpack. "Stay on the line, okay?" He said as he took out his suit. "Let me know if he comes home or-" he pauses, pulling his shirt over his head. "or anything really." The shirt goes flying across the room, soon followed by his pants. He continues as he steps into his suit and pulls it up. "Scratch that, can we just call the whole time?" He presses the symbol for the suit to envelop him and looks at Ned. 

 

"Yeah." A sad smile is stretched across Ned's features. 

 

"I'll see you soon." He says before opening his window and jumping out. 

 

"Is everything okay?" Karen's calm voice asks. 

 

"Yeah. Don't worry." There's sadness in Peter's voice now as well, understanding that Ned misses his actual best friend. He noticed the differences between the two Peters and is as worried about him as Tony is. "Just get me a route to the collider and-" he pauses, before continuing hesitantly. "And connect me to Ned." 

 

"Right on it." 

 

He chats with Ned and occasionally stops small crimes as he makes his way to the collider. 

 

+++

 

He enters the space where the collider is being held. It looks pretty much finished, except for the hole in the wall he just climbed through. Tony doesn't seem to be there yet and he had ended his call with Ned before entering, not wanting to risk distractions. 

 

What was concerning was that Miles was nowhere to be seen either. He decides to climbe higher in order to get a better view of the space. 

 

After a moment he drops down on the top of the collider, the height providing no help in searching for Miles. He looks around, the height at least calming his nerves a little. 

 

Somewhere above him a speaker cracks to life. He spins around, ready to fight but realising there is nothing for him to fight off. A chuckle spreads through the giant space, making him stiffen. 

 

"Well, hello again." A deep voice speaks. It's menacing, threatening and in no way happy to see him. "You found your way home or is this a different you?" 

 

Peter turns to where he thinks the man is speaking from. He searches for it and as he guessed, a giant man is standing in the control panel. He can't make out his features, only that he's wearing a black suit. 

 

"You don't actually need to answer that as I'm going to kill you regardless of where you're from." Another chuckle. "I'd say that it's nothing personal... but it is. You have a preferred way to go? No? Okay." He seemed to turn away to someone before speaking again. "This time make sure he's dead."

 

Peter looks around frantically, searching for a way to get away. Before he can do as much as consider climbing down from the collider a purple blur appears in his field of vision. 

 

_ Prowler.  _

 

He's getting dangerously close to Peter and dangerously fast. Before he has too much time to overthink his actions he jumps down from the collider. 

 

_ Fuck fuck FUUUCK.  _

 

He shoots a web to slow down his fall and when the web connects he uses it to direct his fall towards the hole he came through. His thoughts are racing so fast he doesn't have the time to understand them. As he lands, just a couple of feet from the hole, he breaks into a sprint. He passes through the hallway quickly and easily jumps over the railing. He stops on the tracks, in his panic not knowing which way to head. 

 

_ Jump.  _ His spidey sense whispers to him. So he does, sticking to the ceiling moments before a train rushes by. He lets go and lands on it, sticking to it in exchange. He lets out a shaky breath, hoping he's gotten away. But when has the Parker luck ever done him justice? 

 

Not even a minute passes before he can see Prowler climbing up on the train.  _ Oh that's not good. That's so not good.  _ He thinks as he scoots back. 

 

He looks around but his only option seems to be up the train as he's not exactly fond of jumping from the moving vehicle. So he turns over and starts crawling upwards. Peter can hear metal scraping behind him, indicating Prowler must have trouble climbing up the train. 

 

When Peter reaches the end of the cart he crawls on its side and tries to open the door. It doesn't budge but with a stronger push it changes its mind. He jumps inside and closes the door behind him, fumbling with the lock. It clicks, even though Peter doesn't think it will do much. 

 

He turns around to see people staring at him in shock. He feels like he should explain but also knows he doesn't have the time. So he runs. He opens the door on the end of the cart with such force he almost rips them off.

 

Jumping the gap between the carts and opening the other door more carefully he continues up. 

 

"Karen? How much till the next stop?" He asks as he's exiting the second cart. 

 

"Approximately forty seconds."

 

"Okay, great. Inform Tony of my situation?" He asks as he enters the next cart. It's fuller, slowing him down a bit. 

 

"Of course."

 

"Sorry!" He calls as he bumps into someone. They seem to regain their balance quickly so he continues onward. Before he reaches the end of the cart Karen is speaking again.

 

"Mr. Stark is trying to contact you, would you like me to connect the call?" 

 

"Yeah, sure." He says as he jumps into the next cart. The train starts slowing down and it throws him forward. He crashes into the standing passengers and sends them flying on the floor with him. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry." He says as he gets up. "Are you okay?" He asks, helping the people up. He hears the call connect and manages to apologise once more before Tony's voice fills his mask. 

 

"What the fuck does Karen mean there's someome trying to kill you?!" He practically shouts. There's so much panic in the man's voice that for a moment Peter doubts it's actually Tony. 

 

"What she said! The- the purple guy, Prowler, he's after me." The train stops and he practically takes the door with him as he sprints out. "I don't know why, but the big guy said he wants me dead- can we talk about that later?!" He sprints up the stairs and as he reaches the top he stops and turns around. 

 

Prowler has just reached the stairs and is staring right at Peter. He starts making his way upward and Peter turns back around and starts sprinting again. 

 

"Where are you?" He can hear Tony's voice come through. 

 

"I don't know-"  _ faster. He's catching up.  _ "Check the tracker." 

 

"Tracker?" 

 

"Yeah, the one-" He cuts himself off. "-the one we _fucking removed_ with Ned." He has never thought he would ever regret that decision. "I'm gonna die." He breaths out in a sort of chuckle as he hears a motorcycle engine rear to life behind him. 

 

He doesn't know where he's running, he's going too fast to process anything. When his brain catches up with him a little and reminds him he has webs he mentally slaps himself. He jumps up on the nearest lamppost and starts swinging. Soon he's gaining more speed but the engine seems to be following him with not too much difficulty. 

 

"Where are you, kid?!" 

 

"Uuuh-" He looks around. "Couple of blocks from the Tower. How fast can you be there?" 

 

"Thirty seconds."

 

"Make it fifteen." 

 

"Okay, making it fifteen."

 

"He's following me on a bike. He doesn't seem to be having too much trouble keeping up-" He's cut off by a bullet flying past him. 

 

"WAS THAT A BULLET?!" Tony screams. 

 

Peter takes the next turn, hoping to give his chaser more trouble at keeping up. "Yeah, that's what it was." He says, panic in his own voice. "I'm two blocks away." He informs. 

 

"Ten for me. Hang on, kid." 

 

The Tower comes into view and he tries to gain as much height as he can. He lands with a heavy thud and looks down. He can see the bike slowing down, Prowler jumping off it before it fully stops. To Peter's surprise he starts running up the side of the building. 

 

"Tony?!" He calls. He's frozen in fear, not knowing whether to run upwards or not. Then he hears the blasters and soon Tony comes into view. Prowler is running up the side of the building effortlessly, his eyes locked on Peter. He starts shooting, Peter missing the bullets only thanks to his spidey sense. 

 

He glances at Tony, who's almost at his side. Peter has no idea what he's gonna do. When Tony stops next to him and extends a hand so he can climb on he doesn't protest. He feels Tony's arm wrap around him protectively and then they're flying away. 

 

"Hey, you're alright." Tony reassures calmly as he feels Peter holding onto him for dear life. 

 

There's a couple of bullets flying after them but none of them hit their target. Peter hides his face in Tony's neck, holding on tighter. 

 

After a minute or two Peter can feel them beginning to slow down and soon they land on top of a building. Peter feels like he should let go but he doesn't. He can't. He's too terrified to let go of the person who always keeps him safe. 

 

So he hangs on, even using his stickiness so there's no way he can be torn away from Tony. Tony seems to understand that as he places his other hand on his head and holds him tight. 

 

Peter lets out a sob, realising he has been crying. He buries his face further into Tony's neck. 

 

"Hey, hey, it's okay." Tony speaks softly as he runs his hand up and down Peter's back. "I won't let him hurt you. It's okay." 

 

"Peter?" Karen speak softly. 

 

He takes a shaky breath before speaking. "Yeah?" His voice is muffled since his face is still hidden away. 

 

"Ned is calling you."

 

"Answer it." 

 

"Peter? Peter, oh my god, are you okay? Where are you?" 

 

"I'm… I don't know where I am." He raises his head so his voice can be more audible. "On some roof in Brooklyn, I think."

 

"Why are you there? It's almost ten, neither you nor Miles are here and I'm seriously worried, dude." 

 

Peter takes a shaky breath. "It's a- it's a long story." He focuses on Tony's hand on his back to calm himself down. "I basically almost got killed. I'm with Tony right now, we still don't know where Miles is-" His voice cracks. 

 

There's horrified silence from the other side of the line. "Please tell me you're okay." His best friend whispers. 

 

"No," he tries to chuckle. "well, physically yeah. Overall though… No, not really." 

 

"Holy shit, dude."

 

"Yeah."

 

"Should I be waiting for you? Or do you need a cover-up story."

 

"I'll head home. I don't trust your cover-up to not be porn."

 

"Hey!" He pretends to be offended. "That was one time!" 

 

"Yeah, that doesn't rule out the possibility of it happening again."

 

Ned goans a little. "I'm glad you're okay, though. Come back soon." 

 

"Thanks, Ned. End call." 

 

The line disconnects and he wiggles himself out of Tony's grasp. He rolls up his mask to dry off his face and then pulls it back on. "I should head home." He says. 

 

"Yeah, I… I would actually like you to stay at the Tower." 

 

"After you saw him run up it effortlessly?! What if he breaks into the penthouse? What if-" 

 

"Peter. It's okay. Do you wanna stay at your place?" 

 

He nods excessively at that. 

 

"Okay. But I'm staying too." He sees that Peter wants to protest so he quickly continues. "I won't take no as an answer. You either come to the Tower or I come with you."

 

"How do you wanna explain it to May?" 

 

"Leave that to me. It won't be porn, don't worry." 

 

Peter chuckles at the joke and nods, giving in. 

 

+++

 

The flight is quick and quiet. Tony stops in front of Peter's window and lets him climb on the wall so he can open his window. He climbs into his room and moves some mess out of the way so Tony doesn't make too much noise. Upon further inspection he notices that Ned's not in the room. He shrugs it off as a pee break and gestures for the hovering Tony outside of his building to climb in.

 

As he expected, the metal made it difficult for the man to climb through such a small space and he ended up falling on the floor with a metallic thunk. Peter chuckles lightly and helps the man on his feet. 

 

"Where's Ted?" Tony asks, stepping out of his suit. It closes behind him and powers down. 

 

_ So cool.  _

 

"Ned." He corrects. He backs up a little and takes a picture of the Iron-Man suit chilling in his room. Moments later the door to his room open and Ned walks in. The moment he spots Tony he looks like he's going to pass out. 

 

"Mr- Mr. Iron-Man," He stutters. "what, uh- what brings you here?" 

 

"Oh, I'm staying the night." Tony replies nonchalantly. Ned looks at Peter, wide-eyed. Peter shrugs, "it was either I stay at the Tower or he stays with me. And I really don't want to be near the Tower right now." 

 

Ned's face scrunches up in confusion. 

 

"I… He was this close to getting to me. He can _climb_ _ walls _ . Like  _ run _ up them. It was terrifying." He tries to offer a chuckle. Ned's face just scrunches up more, now in worry more than confusion. 

 

"Okay," Tony clasps his hands. "You two get to bed. I'll take the couch."

 

"Absolutely not." Peter counters. "You are not sleeping at a couch."

 

"You can't stop me." He smirks. 

 

"Actually, I can. Super strength, remember? I could lift you with one arm without breaking a sweat."

 

Tony releases a tired sigh. "Fine. I want the top bed."

 

Peter prepares the bed for all three of them, not letting his friend and mentor help. Tony and Peter then each take a shower as Ned already had one and then bid each other goodnight. 

 

It takes Peter several hours to fall asleep, anxiety gnawing at him about Miles. When he does it at least is dreamless. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y'all. It may again take me a little longer to post the next chapter. I just finished writing this one and I'm also currently traveling so it's more difficult to find time to write. Hope you understand! <33


	11. The Good Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm basing Ben's death upon the comics so in case you haven't read it, here's an explanation: Peter's grades were dropping due to him going out and fighting in illegal rings to earn money. Ben and May call him out on that and he basically tells them to fuck off. He runs away to... Flash's I think? And ends up in a party from which Ben drags him away. They talk in a park before Peter runs away. When Ben and May were at home a robber broke in but Ben thought it was Peter and surprised the robber, hence he shot him.

_He's walking down the sidewalk, his hands deep in his pockets. He was still bubbling with anger and even a hint of sadness. Ben dragging him out of that party just to tell him he was acting like a kid?!_

  


_He inhales sharply and looks up to check the street before crossing. What he wasn't expecting was the red and blue flashing lights at the end of the street._

  


_His street. At the end of his street._

  


_Before he knew it he was running._

  


Maybe they parked in front of the wrong house. That must be it, right? Or maybe a different apartment? _He thought desperately to himself. Those hopes were destroyed as soon as he spotted May. She had a blanket over her shoulders and was sitting on the stairs leading to the apartment building._

  


_He reached the stairs and stopped mere feet away. He had so many questions but only one made its way out._

  


_"Ben?" He asked, desperation reeking from his voice._

  


_There was so much sadness in May's eyes as she looked up at him. Despair and fear and… and… was that anger?_

  


Peter jolted awake. His heart's beating rapidly in his chest as he looks around with anxiety, seeing he's not in his room. He shoots up into a sitting position, panicked. He looks around and remembers why he was sleeping on the couch. He lets out a breath, relaxing. 

  


The sun has only just risen, the morning light spilling into the apartment. He rubs his eyes and gets up to go to the bathroom. 

  


He does his business and washes his face, looking at himself in the mirror, hands gripping the sink. 

  


There's dark circles under his eyes, his hair is messy and a bit overdue on a haircut. His bones stick out more than they used to and there's a glossy look in his eyes. He can see parts of himself glitch in and out of reality. 

  


_At least it's not painful._  

  


He pushes himself away from the sink and exits the room. He tumbles into the kitchen and gets some coffee started. While that's preparing he opens the fridge and pulls out a bottle of milk and a pizza box. He sets them both at the counter and opens the box. He tears away a slice and bites into it, not bothering to heat it up. 

  


When he's half done with it the coffee machine beeps, letting him know it has finished. He retrieves the cup and pours some milk into it before returning the bottle into the fridge. 

  


He takes both the cup and the box with him to the dining table and eats in silence. He eats the half of the pizza that was in the box and puts it next to the trash can. He then tumbles back to the coffee machine and fixes himself another cup. After pouring in some milk he heads to the sofa, taking a sip. 

  


He places the cup on the table while he gets himself covered with a blanket and puts on a show. 

  


He drinks the coffee slowly, enjoying the taste of it, as it slowly brings him back to life. He's finishing it as the second episode ends, contemplating getting another one when he hears the door to his room open. 

  


He looks over at Tony as he shuffles out of his room, hair sticking in every direction. He disappears into the bathroom for a moment before tumbling into the kitchen. Peter can see him press the button for a double espresso before he looks back at the show, another episode playing automatically. 

  


Once Tony has his coffee he walks to the couch and gestures for Peter to move so he can sit down. They watch the episode in silence for good ten minutes before Tony speaks. 

  


"Why up so early?" 

  


"Couldn't sleep." Peter admits. 

  


"You too, huh?" 

  


Peter just hums and finishes his coffee, placing the mug on the table. Peter notices how eagerly Tony grips his mug, he must be cold. So he shifts closer, moving half of the blanket from under him onto Tony so his legs are covered as well. The man looks at it in surprise before he looks up at Peter. "Thanks, kid." 

  


Peter just smiled at him, not feeling like a response was necessary. They finished the twenty minute episode before Peter spoke. "Do you want something to eat?" 

  


"Not really." Tony responded, eyes not leaving the screen. 

  


"Okay." Peter said, before getting up. He took the empty mugs into the kitchen and popped two toasts into the toaster. He fetched peanut butter from a cabinet and a plate from another. 

  


After a minute, the toaster dinged and the toasts jumped up to greet him. He took them out quickly, hissing as he burnt his fingers a little. 

  


He then spread the peanut butter on them, put it away and threw the knife into the dishwasher. He took the plate and went to sit next to Tony, putting the plate in his lap. 

  


Tony looked at it in confusion. "I… said I wasn't hungry?" It came out more as a question. 

  


"Don't care. Eat." Peter gestured at the food. 

  


"I-" 

  


" _Eat_ or I swear to god I will feed you." Peter gave him a stern look, eyes not wavering. Tony held his gaze for a moment before biting into the toast. It took another episode before he finished. He put the plate at the table as Peter reached for the remote and turned the tv off. 

  


"I'm bored." He says, slumping against the couch. "And tired." Even with the coffee running through his veins he couldn't shake the tiredness written into his very being. 

  


"Do you have something we could tinker with?" 

  


"Yeah, but it's in my room and I don't wanna risk waking Ned up." 

  


_Miles_. His mind suddenly provides. He sits up so fast his head spins as he reaches over for his phone. He has an unread text from him. 

  


_Call me._

  


It was sent at three in the morning. Peter unlocks his phone quickly and dials Miles' number. It takes a moment but the lines do connect. 

  


"Miles?" He asks. 

  


"Hey, sorry for bitching out yesterday." To Peter's surprise he does sound really sorry. "I didn't wanna worry you but needed to figure something out." 

  


"You scared the shit out of me!" He hisses. "I thought you _died_! _I_ almost died." 

  


"Wha-" 

  


"Where even are you." He interrupts. 

  


"I slept on top of a building. I'll come to yours around lunch if that's okay." 

  


"Yeah, you better." 

  


"Did you start on the goober?" 

  


"Actually, we finished it. All we need now is to fucking find you and get going." He hisses. 

  


"Okay, I'll be there by lunch. See ya." 

  


With that he hangs up. Peter pulls his phone away from him and looks at Tony. He has a mixture of emotions written on his face that Peter can't read. 

  


"You really need to watch your language, kid." 

  


"He'll be here by lunch." He says instead, ignoring Tony's comment. They're silent for a moment before Peter speaks again. "We'll…we'll need your help, you know?" He looks up and searches Tony's face. "You'll have to override the collider and destroy it after wise. It's gonna be difficult as you'll have to hover but…we'll figure it out."

  


Tony just nods silently. He looks like he wants to throw in a witty comment but changes his mind. "Wanna play something?" Peter asks. 

  


"Sure," Tony chuckles, "humor me." 

  


So Peter turns on his Nintendo and pulls up a game. They actually get into it quickly. Through it Tony gets up to fetch more coffee for himself two times but other than that they go uninterrupted for about two hours. 

  


It's nearing nine when he hears Ned exit his room. He can hear him yawn and, just as Tony and Peter, heads for the bathroom first. Peter and Tony have conveniently just wrapped up a round so Peter turns off the console. 

  


Tony reaches for his mug to finish his coffee but Peter snatches it first. He brings it up to his lips and snickers at the shock and confusion written across Tony's face. He takes a sip, the semi cold liquid being more bitter than he's used to but he doesn't mind. Tony's eyes flicker over to Peter as he stares at the boy. 

  


"What just happened?" 

  


Peter's grin widens as he finishes the coffee. "You, mister, had enough. You have a heart condition, remember?" He jumps over the couch and goes to place the mug into the dishwasher.

  


Ned opens the bathroom door and goes to sit down at the dining table, rubbing his eyes.

  


"Morning, Ned." Peter greets. 

  


"Morning." He grumbles, still half asleep. 

  


"Breakfast?" He asks his best friend as he opens the fridge. 

  


"Yeah, pb&j, thanks."

  


"You a nanny now?" Tony quips, laughing a little. 

  


"I might as well be. If it weren't for me or Pepper you'd be dead by now." Peter says, pointing a knife at Tony. "So you better start paying me." 

  


Tony ignored that comment, just rolled his eyes and turned to Ned. "So, Ted, how'd you sleep?"

  


Ned was a little taken aback by the small talk starter but answered anyway. "Uh, fine, sir. Woke up once or twice but besides that I slept good. What about you sir?" 

  


"Oh, I slept more than this knucklehead." He gestured to Peter. "But we reached Miles and he should be here by noon."

  


Ned seemed to beam at that. "We'll get Peter back?" 

  


"Yeah," Peter said, putting the plate in front of his friend, "you'll get your Peter back." He said with a smile. And with those words Ned’s smile faltered. He looked down at his plate and mumbled a thank you before biting into the sandwich. 

  


Peter turned to Tony, "You can pull up something on the tv, right? Capable of working with something that isn't ran by FRIDAY?" He snickered. 

  


"Watch it, kid!" Tony said with no real heat behind his words. Peter just stuck out his tongue and went for his room. He grabbed his laptop, his mask and a USB cord before heading back to join his friends. Tony managed to turn on Netflix and was now going through the shows grumbling about 'all of them being so fucking weird'. Peter plopped at the couch, covering himself with the blanket again. He placed his laptop in his lap and powered it on. He flipped the mask inside out and plugged it into the computer. 

  


"So," Peter begins, "I was thinking we could get Karen into my phone." He looks up at Tony hopefully. The mechanic nods, still scrolling through the shows. 

  


"Should be easy enough." He says. He then squints his eyes at something and Peter looks over. "The Good Place? What the fuck is that?" He mumbles. Peter chuckles and reaches over for the remote. He quickly selects the first episode and raises the volume a little. "You're old, Tony." He laughs. The man just shoots him a glare. "It's actually pretty good." He adds, ignoring him. 

  


Both of them turn their attention to the computer as the show began playing. They worked for about two hours, Ned coming to join them after he finished his breakfast. After those two hours passed they were just about finished, the only thing remaining was to transfer it to his phone. So Peter disconnected the suit and plugged in his phone instead and set the code to upload. 

  


He glanced at the clock on the monitor. _11:35 am_. They should order lunch. Nerves clenched his stomach as he thought about his options. He didn't have much money so if they ordered in he would have to raid his emergency stash. He could make something from the scrapes they had but he worried about insulting Tony. Yes, he could ask Tony to pay but what kind of host does that?

  


_Or you could order for them and you with May will have the remaining scraps._ A small voice provided. _Yes, that…that sounds like the best option._

  


"What do you want for lunch?" He asked the two. Ned, who's sitting in an armchair with a blanket of his own, shoots him a worried glance, knowing damn well how the Parkers are with money. 

  


"What's on the menu?" Tony asks, oblivious to the situation. His legs are popped up on the coffee table and he's watching the show. 

  


"Something not too fancy?" Peter tries carefully. 

  


"Thai?" Tony asks, eyes flickering over to Peter. Peter forces a smile.

  


"Sounds great!" He says. Don't get him wrong, he loves thai, but ordering for three people, one of which eats for three, isn't exactly…cheap. His eyes flick over to his phone. He takes it carefully and checks his bank account. He has twenty dollars on it and a hundred in the emergency savings. 

  


_Okay. This is fine_. He takes a deep breath as he transfers fifty dollars from his emergency account, wincing a little as he receives a text from his bank, notifying him of the transfer. He locks his phone before going to order the food. He doesn't know what Miles wants so he just guesses and orders what he himself likes. 

  


He ends up paying all of those seventy dollars for the food, his stomach twisting with anxiety but he refuses to speak. 

  


He pushes the laptop off his lap and wiggles out of the blanket, grabbing his mask and going to his room to put it away. He then glances at May's door, standing in the doorframe of his own. It was atypical for her to sleep in so late, especially when she went to bed early. He walked over to her room and knocked lightly on the door. When no response came, he cracked it open only to see the blinds pulled down and May still in bed. 

  


_She must be working so much._ He thinks sadly to himself. _I should've ordered for her too_. That thought strikes him with guilt. He closes the door slowly and wents back to join his friends. 

  


Ned’s eyes meet his and he raises an eyebrow in a silent question of _everything okay?_ Peter just shakes his head and mouths _later_. Ned gives him a small nod as his eyes scan his face before they find their way back to the tv. In the last second he takes a turn into the bathroom and locks the door behind him. He slides down the door, his legs bending up to his chest in the process. He hugs them and places his chin on top of his knees. 

  


_Breathe. You're alright. Everything's okay._ He tells himself. 

  


_Everything's not okay_. The voice jabs. _You're wasting the emergency money. Get your shit together and get a job, Parker._

  


He takes a shaky breath. Yeah, a job would do. When he would work? He doesn't know. Better question is when would he sleep. He knows this is not his dimension but back home they're not exactly much better at it. 

  


A quick flash of pain rips through his body, bringing him back to reality. He stands up on shaky legs, washes his face while avoiding looking at himself, and leaves. 

  


He plops down on the couch again and checks the upload progress. 

  


_20% complete_. 

  


He looks away from the monitor again and joins his friends in watching the show. About fifteen minutes pass before the intercom's ringing fills the room. He gets up and answers the phone, and Miles' voice fills his ear. 

  


"Hey, it's Miles." He speaks, voice sounding tired.

  


"Hi, I'll buzz you in. Come up to the fourth floor, I'll leave the apartment door open."

  


"Sounds good. See ya in a minute." 

  


Peter presses the button to let him inside the building and hangs up the phone. He then goes and cracks the front door open before heading into the kitchen. He opens the fridge to see half a portion of pasta and two boxes of vietnamese. He takes the pasta and a box of vietnamese for himself and gets started on getting it heated up. 

  


Soon he can hear Miles' footsteps on the stairs and moments later he emerges through the front door. Peter glances over to him as he stand sheepishly in the hallway. 

  


"Shoes." Peter points out before returning to his food, stirring it. He can hear Miles take them off and his socks covered feet make their way towards him. 

  


"Want any help?" Miles asks. 

  


Peter shakes his head as he responds. "No, just heating some shit up. I ordered thai for you three," He gestures with the fork he used to stir the food, "I hope that's okay."

  


Miles' eyes light up a little. "Thai's great! Thanks Pete." 

  


A ghost of a smile crosses Peter's face. "No problem." 

  


As if on cue the intercom rings again and Miles walks over with "I got it." He picks up the phone and talks to the delivery guy as Peter tastes the food. A little longer. 

  


Miles then disappears down the hall and out of the front door again, reappearing two minutes later with two bags of food. He sets it on the table as Peter turns off the stove and moves his food onto a plate. 

  


Tony turns off the tv and he and Ned join them at the table where Miles is passing away the boxes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shorter chapter, I had a course I was attending while I'm in France and I came back tired most of the days. Hope you enjoyed! <3


End file.
